Destiny: Just a Game
by SailorZelda
Summary: COMPLETED! Summary: ...A girl is sent to Hyrule, and finds herself in the place of a very familiar Princess. NOT your average 'people wind up in Hyrule' fic. Odd plot, more musings upon Destiny, a little bit of LZ.
1. April's Obsession

**HI! It's me, again. SAILORZELDA! I've come to give you another, hopefully not so pathetic, story!! Okay, this story should be better than my other story, 'Two World, One Destiny'. Although I haven't finished it yet, as I plan to soon, I want to start this story right now so I don't forget the already finished-in-my-mind plot! This should be pretty long when I'm through with it. I'm not a very good topic picker, just to let you know. I picked Humor/Romance as a category, but I'm not sure if I did it right. I think I did. If after a few chapters, though, you notice I need to change it, let sailorzelda-chan know, so she can. ;) (You do know that that is me, right!?) 

You may have seen a story kinda like this before, I'm not actually sure if one like it has been done by someone else. I sure hope it hasn't, and is anybody thinks I'm stealing their ideas, they can rest assure, I DIDN'T! It came to me in a dream, literally, so NYAH!! 

What is it with me!? I'm always writing stories with twenty-first century chicks somehow involved with the Z-crew!! I bet nobody can answer that, as I cannot, either! Although, this is one story that will actually have "The Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time" as a real, live game, and NOT a parallel dimension. Just so you know, and listen closely, as I will not say it again. I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE FREAKING ZELDA GAMES OR ANYTHING THAT IS INVOLVED AT ALL WITH NINTENDO! Thankies to all the Nintendo peeps for making these GREAT games, otherwise, I would not be a totally obsessed, phyco-freaking, ZELDA MANIAC!! 'Cause that's just what I am, and I'm PROUD of it, too!! 

Would you like me to shut up so you can read the story!? OWIEEE!! WHO THREW THAT TORCH AT ME!!? Why, I oughta'.......... 

ANYWAYS.....................REVIEW THIS STORY, OR I SHALL NOT FINISH IT! I'M SO SERIOUS!! (Although I want a lot of review, I mean, who doesn't, I will probably settle for a certain amount, that shall remain unannounced because I'm a freak'n psycho girl who wants as many review as she can get!) 

OWIEEE, AGAIN!! I'm SHUTTING UP, OKAY!? 

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"Evil game! DIE, now!" shouted April. "You shall not win this time, evil shadow creature!! I will slice you into ribbons, BONGO BONGO!" 

For the past couple weeks, she had been trying to finish her favorite game on her N64. "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time". All she needed to do to finish the majority of it was beat the last of the five Temples. She needed to do this before she could see Princess Zelda and battle the main boss, Ganon. She had done everything there was to finish in the game, yet one huge obstacle, seemingly impenetrable, kept her from that last cinema scene. The boss of the Shadow Temple, Bongo Bongo. 

"Come on, PLEASE! Just die for me, you evil little leech! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, come on, go........yes, no, no, nonononononono, NOOOOOOOOO! NOT AGAIN! WUAHHHHHH!!!!!!" she cried, as the dreaded, yet all to familiar words, GAME OVER, flashed across her screen. "I suck! This sucks! Everything SUCKS!!" she bellowed as she threw her clear purple controller across the room. "I HATE this! I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I HATE IT!!!" 

"This has been established!" yelled her older sister from the dining room. "Stop acting like a two year old! You act like that dumb game is you life!" 

"It IS my life, in the summer, as far as I'm concerned!! And I am NOT acting like a two year old. When we played Super Smash Brothers yesterday, you acted like a total freak when you LOST!" 

"Don't bring back those horrible images," she said quietly as she went back to reading her book. 

"Fine," she said as she went back to staring at the screen. "There's gotta be some dang secret move or something that those stupid on-line codes didn't tell me about. It just isn't humanly possible to be beaten to easily," she muttered quietly. 

"Shut up! I'm trying to read!" her sister shushed from the dining room. 

"You're the one reading, why don't YOU shut up!" 

"No, you!" 

"You!" 

"YOU, YOU FREAK!" 

"YOUYOUYOUYOUYOUYOUYOUYOUYOUYOUYOUYOUYOUYOUYOUYOUYOU!!!!!!!" April threw another two-year-old-like fit. (A/N: Capitol letters are soooo fun to use!) 

"Pipe down, both of you!" their little brother shouted, sticking his head out of his door. 

The girls here silenced for a moment, bewildered, but then went back to their arguing. 

"April, why can't you act like a normal human being!?" 

"Maybe because I have YOU for a big sister!" 

"You take that back!" she shouted. 

"I will not!" shouted April, as she threw a pillow from the sofa at her sister. She caught it, though, and chucked it right back, having it hit April in the stomach. 

Their brother sighed and stuck his head back in his room. 

"Maggie, you freak, you're gonna' break the Nintendo!!" April shouted as her sister barely missed stepping on their gaming system in a rush for her younger sister. She was paying so much attention to that fact that she didn't notice Maggie rush up to her and pin her to the piano that was behind her. "OUCH! That hurt like a piece of CRAP! Get you sorry high-school butt OFF OF ME!!!!!" she shouted. 

"Say it first!" Maggie demanded. 

"NO!" 

"Say it, or else!" she demanded again. 

"NO, I will not say it you freak of nature!" 

"SAY IT!" 

"OWIEEE! OKAY!! All hail, Queen Margarita!" she said the words that felt like poison rolling off her tongue. "You fruitcake." 

"Did you just say something!?" her sister asked. 

"No, it did not! Now let me up, you majesty!" she added the last part with much sarcasm. Maggie complied with the request. "Psycho, fruitcake, blonde cheerleader," she muttered under her breath when she was sure that Maggie was out of hearing range. 

When this little incident was over, she looked out the window at the quickly lightening sky. "Oh! The full moon is coming out right now! You can see, it's right over out house! I'm going outside!" she called as she opened the door to the midsummer night's air. 

"Yes, please, disappear, little urchin," her sister waved her hand over the top of her book as if to shoo her out of the house. 

April made a face at her sister, who was not paying attention, and went outside. "I do not act like a two year old. She acts like more of a baby than me. I'm going into be fourteen next March, and she's already sixteen. Well, in a month, anyway," she thought out loud as she walked around her back patio. 

"Ah, I just love summer. Everything about it. Now, about that evil shadow Boss. I really want to beat it. This sucks so bad! I want to find out what happens at the end! Little Miss Jessica wouldn't tell me what happens," she thought as she leaned against the fence railing. 

"What time is it!? It seems kinda late....." she said as she yawned. "Maybe I should go to bed early, for once." She smiled at this thought. She usually went to be after midnight during the summer, and woke up around ten or eleven in the morning. She'd get even more sleep if she went to bed now. So, she went inside and went into her room to go to sleep. As she drifted off, thoughts of summer, her sister and brother, and Zelda crossed and stuck in her mind. She wondered for a moment what it would be like to be one of the characters, before her mind began to black out.................. 

** Hehehehe.........Are you wondering what this story is going to be like yet!? I hope you guys are liking this so far. It hasn't had Zelda yet, I know, except for in the game. Don't worry. In the next chapter, you guys will get to see all that fun stuff. Oh, yeah. I'm sorry this chapter was kinda short, I promise the next one will be much longer. Okay.....hasta pronto, amigos! ;) 


	2. My Mess Up!

PROCEED TO NEXT CHAPTER. I SCREWED UP THE NUMBERS A BIT! 


	3. April's Awakening

**Hey, all! What time is it? Does anybody know what time it is!? Que hora es? THE TIME, THE TIME, WHO'S GOT THE TIME!! Oh, there it is, on the bottom of my screen. HOLY MONKEYS! It's freaking eleven o'clock! They shouldn't have given me that three day weekend. I don't have piano lessons tomorrow! WHEEEE!! Okay, enough of that random crap that I just felt like typing. 

Aaaaaaaaaalrighty, then! (Can you guess where I got that from?) It's time for chapter two. I am REALLY hoping that you guys will enjoy this chapter. I think it's pretty good. BUT, I haven't gotten very many reviews yet..... *starts to go find some weapons to threaten the readers with.* 

April: Hey! Come back here, you freak! You have to start the story! And, NO, absolutely NONONONO threatening the readers! They won't review if you do that, you pooch! (That is my word;) Don't ask me where I got it from.) 

Me: Why !? They already know I'm crazy!!! Okay, I'll shut up. Hey, April, GET BACK IN THAT STORY! HOW DID YOU GET OUT HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!?? 

April: It's your story, moron! 

Me: Hmmm......You prove a good point, there......... 

Okay, enough of this. Just felt like putting random little bull into my story because I'm all hyped up on sugar, and it's, like, really late. SOOOOOO, here ya go! The second chapter!! 

*************************************************************************************** 

April stirred in her sleep, and it seemed as though she was trying to throw every blanket down on the floor possible while in her unconscious state. Her feverish slumber was plagued by disturbing dreams of angry storm clouds, a giant field, a man in black armor........Why did this all seem so familiar!? The part of her brain still controlled by her asked. 

Her restless night would now be cut short by an early morning. 

"Princess!" someone called for April. 

"Shut up, Maggie. You're not the queen..." April mumbled, still half asleep. 

"What did you say? Zelda, we don't have time for this. You have to get up," that voice said again. 

"Maggie, how many times have I told you not to call me that? I'll admit that I'm obsessed with that game, but, geez! It's summer! Can't you just let me SLEEP!" she said, putting the pillow over her head. 

"Who on Din's good earth is Maggie!?" the voice asked. 

April was startled at this comment. Her sister had only every played the game a couple times. She wouldn't know about the three Goddesses of Hyrule from the game: Din, Farore, and Nayru. Why was she denying she was Maggie, anyway? April tried to find an answer for these questions, but all the found was someone yanking the comforter off her. She cringed at the new intrusion of cold morning air, and pulled the pillow slowly off her head to look at her annoying sibling. 

When her eyes were open to her surroundings, she did not, however, see what she expected to see. She first greeted the headboard of an unfamiliar canopy bed. It sported many elegant carvings, and had an all too familiar symbol, the Triforce, on it. "What the hell......?" she asked out loud. She further looked around to see, instead of a desk, two dressers, and her walk in closet, she saw a round room which held a low vanity table of a rich red, many tall bookshelves, a few chests, a large window which lead to a balcony, and a closet that could most likely hold her room. "Good God!" she shouted as she bolted up out of the bed. 

"Goddesses, Zelda, you act more like a blonde every day!" the voice shouted while throwing some cloth material at her, while April was still turned around. "Get dressed! We've got to get going!" 

"I'm not a blonde, you fruit!" April shouted as she grabbed some of her unruly and sleep tangled hair. It was longer than it was, she noticed while pulling it, and a golden yellow. "HOLY CRAP! I'M A BLONDE!!" she shouted in very shocked surprise. 

"You've only been for the last ten years, Highness," that same voice, exasperated, and sickeningly patient. "Can you please get dressed now?" 

"Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God...." April was totally oblivious to anything and everything the voice was saying. She was just in a psycho daze, wondering if she was still dreaming. 'That's it. I'm dreaming. Yeah, I can't possibly be going crazy, not now....." she thought as she quickly rocked herself back and forth. 

"Zelda!" the voice, who April still had not seen, snapped. The person possessing the voice grabbed the now-blonde April by the shoulders and turned her to face it. "Are you having those nightmares again?" it asked her worriedly. 

At first, April didn't see who she was now staring face to face with. She just stupidly stuttered, "N-n-ni-nightmares!? That's it! Th-this is a-a nightmare!" She looked around wildly and frantically, smiling like a maniac. (A/N: Of course, she is a maniac, so anytime she smiled would be smiling like a maniac. Hehehehehe..... 

April: HEY! That was cold, you b****! 

Me: Don't call me that!! You owe your existence to ME, so SHUT UP OR PAY THE CONSEQUENCES!! 

April: What did you do with those weapons? 

Me: GRRRRRRR! I'm gonna delete you if you aren't quiet! 

April: *Silence*............) 

"Zelda, please don't be going crazy on me! I need to get you to come down. Be ready in ten minutes. I'll come up to get you when it's time," the new person said. 

'What the heck. I'll just play along, if this is a stupid, freaking nightmare,' she thought. 

"Uh..all right. I'll be done when you come back," she said, still not paying attention. 

The new figure left her to attend to her clothes and walked out the rather large double doors. April looked back at the clothes that had been thrown onto the deep purple canopy bed. She turned around to put them on, seeing no other option, except to wake herself up. But, since she rarely had dreams where she could control herself, she decided it would be neat to just play along for a while. 

She grabbed some of them, and started to attempt at putting them on. In the gray, early morning light, she could see that they were definitely not twenty-first century. In fact, they looked almost medieval. As she slipped on the long, white skirt and light blue, long-sleeved top, she noticed that these clothes had many layers. After these two things, there was a purple shirt-like thing that had a long little rectangle banner hanging down in the front ending in a point. It had a red eagle on it, and the......Triforce? She pondered this as she put on a gold belt, and nice pair of shoes, and a Egyptian style, hat-like head covering that had a long, hanging down section in the back. The whole thing covered up all her hair except for two small portions right above her ears. She also found among these two gold, band like bracelets and a gold necklace with a gold crest at the end, which had a red jewel in it. It, too, looked very familiar. As she put these on, the wondered, 'What's up with the Triforce!? That thing only exists in the Zelda game......' 

"ZELDA! Oh, geez, I'm Zelda!!" she shouted, finally realizing this. She looked in a full sized mirror on the wall. She had previously been a thirteen year old brunet living in Organ, now she was the ten year old, blonde Princess of Hyrule! 

"COOOOL!" she shouted. She had always admired the character of Zelda, and now she actually WAS her. "It's kinda a shame that it's a dream, though......" she thought out loud. "Oh, and that lady just a minute ago must've been......" 

"Impa!" she stated when the young Sheikah woman came back into her room. More correctly, Princess Zelda's room. 

"So, I see you're not going crazy on me," she gave a half smile to the young Princess. "Now, let's hurry up! Your father is waiting for you," she beckoned April to follow her. 

*** 

April walked, mouth agape, down the large and ornate halls of what seemed to be Hyrule Castle. When she had seen it in the game for the first time, she had wondered what it would be like to walk inside of it. There was a maze of twisted passages, secret passages, and doors leading off to many other parts of the Castle. There were large, marble columns holding up the ceiling in some places and stone walls that were so high in some places, it was hard to see the top from the lack of lighting. The early gray light and light from some torches and assorted candles made it seem very old and intriguing, to her at least. Tapestries of some familiar and not so familiar figures adorned the walls, and decorations like them were all over the place. She continued to follow the Sheikah through all these hallways. 

'If I'm Zelda, I wonder what part of the game I'm in? I wonder, has she, or rather, I, met Link yet?' she thought to herself. 'This is going to be cool, even if it is only a dream........' 

"Uh, hey, Impa?" April asked. 

"Yes?" 

"Why does the King, er, my father want to talk to me right now? What's going on today?" she asked. 

"Don't you remember? Today is when we will finally make official the peace treaty with the Gerudo King. Your father wanted you to be present when this happens." 

"Gerudo King? Oh, you mean that slime bucket, Ganondorf!?" she said quietly, but loud enough for Impa to pick it up with her sharp hearing. 

"I know you've said that you've had bad feelings about this treaty, but, Zelda, will you just give it a chance? Nothing has come true from your vision yet, has it?" the Sheikah asked her. 

"Not YET," she answered. "You just wait and see......" she told her. 

"Right, Zelda," Impa said, rolling her eyes. 

They walked a small ways further, and then reached the throne room. April figured that it was only fitting for the room to be so large, ornate, and filled with people. 'Not only people,' she realized. There were Hylians, Gorons, the occasional Zora, even some Gerudo, in the large room. As she entered the large double doors, many people acknowledged her presence and made small bows or curtsies to the young Princess. April, wanting to act like a princess, and not knowing exactly what to do, nodded her head and continued to walk forward. 

April immediately saw the throne, it was extremely hard to miss. And situated on it, April supposed, was the King of Hyrule. He seemed to be a young man, he looked like a good person, too. April wondered if she should go over to him, and her wondering was immediately confirmed as the king first noticed the princess, then motioned for her to come up. 

'I hope he doesn't ask me something about Zelda's life...' April thought. 'I wouldn't want to make a fool out of myself, or, really, HER. Oh, scary. I just had a thought about, like, what if Zelda and I switched places, like in 'Freaky Friday'.' April pictured Zelda, looking like April, at her school or something. "SCARY!" she said out loud, albeit quietly. 

"Zelda!" the King said, merrily, as she walked up to him. 

"Um, hi," she said, not really knowing what else to say. 

"Quite a turn out, huh? Even your little friend, Princess Ruto, came. She's over there, if you wanted to see her." The King motioned over to a far side of the room, where April saw a small Zora, Ruto, most likely, holding on to the hand of another Zora. 

'How cute,' she thought. 'Ruto isn't as scary as she is in the game.' Her thoughts were interrupted by something in her head which seemed to be the tiniest flash of a vision. She saw a bright flash of green and a garden-like courtyard for a millisecond in her mind's eye. 'What the......?' she thought. 

"Why so quiet, Zel?" the King asked her, snapping her back from the shock of the intruding vision. "You usually have a lot more to say." 

"Oh, I just, and.....well........um.....Can I go outside for a minute?" she asked. 

"But you'll miss the guest of honor!" he told her. 

'As if I'd want to see HIM,' she thought, changing the expression on her face for a brief second to disgust. Before anyone noticed, April said, " I promise I'll be back before anything happens......" she almost whined. 

"Well, all right. Hurry up, though, okay?" 

"'M," she nodded, and turned to find the only person who could help her in this situation. Impa. 

She was not difficult to find among the crowd of people. April noticed that there weren't any other Sheikahs in the room, and wondered why that was. Whatever the reason, April found Impa right away. 

"Impa!" she called to her from a ways across the room. Impa acknowledged her, but continued with her conversation for a short while. April, not wanting to act unlike Zelda would have, just waited for a moment. 

When Impa was finally done talking to some guests, she asked the Princess, "What did you need, Zelda?" 

"Oh. Well, I kinda need to go outside for a minute. I need to go to the...um....." Impa gave her an odd stare while she tried to finish her sentence. "Oh, yeah! The castle courtyard. You know, the round one that has a window into this room?" 

"Yes, but why would you want to go there, when this meeting is about to start?" 

"I told my dad that I would be back before anything important happened. I have two reasons. You know that vision I've been having?" Impa nodded. "Well, I think it's starting to come true." She thought of her tiny vision a few minutes ago. It was most certainly telling her that she would meet Link very soon. 'I am SO glad I pay attention when I play this game...' she thought. 

"And, your other reason?" 

"My backup reason, in case you don't agree with me: I'm the Princess of Hyrule and I can do whatever the heck I want! I need to go outside, PLEASE!" April noticed a few people around her staring at her, so she decided to shut up. 

"I was going to agree with your first reason. I just wanted to see what dumb excuse you came up with, otherwise," Impa laughed. 

"Grrr..." April clenched her teeth. "You need to come with me, Impa." 

"Why?"  
"Just...trust me on this one, okay?" she motioned for Impa to show her to the courtyard. 

*** 

Impa had lead April down many corridors similar to the ones she had walked down earlier this morning. She saw a little bit more of the amazing castle, and she loved every inch of it. When she finally did reach the corridor that lead to the courtyard, Impa stopped walking. 

"Zel, I'm going to stay back here. I'll know when you need me," Impa said, with more than a hint of hidden knowledge. 

"Okay, but, are you sure?" 

"Positive," Impa nodded. 

"Only fools are positive," April contradicted. 

"Are you sure?" Impa shot back. 

"I'm positive. HEY! I fell for it. That wasn't fair!!" she shouted. (A/N: I got that from the movie, 'Fern Gully', which I don't own either. DON'T MAKE FUN OF ME!) 

"Well, anyway, like I said, I'll know when you need me." With that, Impa walked away from the Princess. 

'She wasn't that annoying in the game...' April thought as she walked into the bright sunlight of the courtyard. She looked at her new surroundings, and saw that the courtyard here was much different than in the game. It was round, open to the sky at the top, had grass and flowers and a window, but that was where the similarities stopped. It was MUCH larger than in the game. There were many type of flowers and exotic plants, most of which April had never seen before. The door with which she entered the yard was another difference. There weren't any doors in the game. She saw a tall arch that most likely lead to other parts of different courtyards, and most likely where Link would enter from. She saw a tiny stream which curled around the walls of the yard, and lead out through some small grates to who knew where. April noticed the window, which was large and ornate, with colored glass at the top. It was just thin enough for her to see into the throne room where she had been, but just thick enough to keep her from being seen. She also noticed that there was no little cement stand thing under the window that the Zelda in the game had been standing on. There was a brick sidewalk, but nothing like that stand. 

April noticed that there was a small tree, most likely large enough for her to sit in, just to the left of the window. Something told her to get comfortable, she would be watching most of the treaty making from outside of the window. Since there was no little stand or a bench for her to sit on, she walked up, and sat in a low branch of the tree, that was oddly just perfect for her to sit and see in the window. She got comfortable and looked into the window. 

Right when she looked in the window, she saw the large double doors inside the throne room open. A man, tall, dark, redhead, and scary, at that, entered. "God, it's Ganondorf. I can feel from out here," she said out loud. She could feel, right down to the pit of her stomach, that he was up to no good. "Strange, for a dream, this feels so real." She watched him walk down the parted crowd of people, and walk up to the King. The King looked happy, like 'Finally, we can settle this,' or something. April knew otherwise. 

"Excuse me, miss?" A voice from behind her startled April a lot. She whirled around in the tree to see who had caused the voice, although she had a pretty good idea who it was....... 

*** 

MUAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHAAAAA!!!!!!!!! I left it RIGHT HERE JUST TO BE EVIL!!! AAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!! 

April: *gasp* SailorZelda, you b****! Why did you leave it here!!? 

Me: *goes silent and scary. April cringes* Didn't I tell you to be quiet and not ever call me that again!? ::Reaches for the 'Delete' button.:: 

April: AAAAAHHHHHHHH!! NONONONONONONONONO!! Please!! I beg you forgiveness!! Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Me: OKAY!! ::Gets away from the 'Delete' button, and gives April a big hug:: 

April: You're......squishing ..........me!! 

Me: Opps!! Anyways, people, I leave you here. The next chapter shouldn't take too long to put up, I hope. No, I don't think it will. And, PLEASE REVIEW! Don't make me throw a fit like April!! Even if you already have reviewed, I appreciate LOTS of comments!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay!! Hasta luego, amigos!! 


	4. A meeting, a banquet, a dance, and a far...

**Hola!! WOWIE!! Two chapters in ONE weekend. I feel special, even though it tool a while for me to actually POST this one, it was finish right after chapter 2. I'm really annoyed right now. Although I have the house all to myself, there's this little kid down the street who keeps SCREAMING!!!!! AHHHHHH!! It's ANNOYING!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!! Shutting up. Hey, this is odd! I usually ramble on FOREVER before I start the chapter. WELL, you guys are spared from me today!! :) 

*** 

In her rush to turn her head around to face the newcomer, April fell backward out of the tree, landing on her head. "Owiieeee....." she mumbled as she looked straight up to see the newcomer. Yep. It was Link, all right. And, he was trying not to laugh. 

"Not..........funny," she said slowly, looking up, and with her eyes narrowed. 'This isn't how it's supposed to be,' she thought. 

Link stopped smiling, and asked her, "Um, do you need help?" 

April said, all sarcastically, "Noooooooooooooooooo!" After this, she added, holding out her hand, "Duh!! Help me up, PLEASE!!" After she was up, she dusted herself off, and looked back at the kid standing in front of her. For a kid barely older than ten, he was pretty cute. A blond, like herself, and with blue eyes. She found herself staring, and quickly tried to find something to say. She was saved by a small little ball of glowing light that peaked out, shyly, above Link's head. 

April pointed and said, "OH! That's a fairy, neh? Cool!" 

"Yes," Link said. "Wait, not to be rude, but do you know where the Princess Zelda is? I need to see her." 

"That would be me, oh person who just happens to be sneaking around in my garden!" She smiled as she said this. She thought she might make this conversation at least a little bit like it was in the game. "Anyway, how the heck did you get past the guards!? What do you want?" she asked. 

Link blushed a little and said, "Umm, well....." 

"You know, you don't even have to answer that first question. I don't think I wanna know." She tried to think of some other things that Zelda had said in the game. "Hey, wait a sec'! You have a fairy, then, does that mean, like, you're from the forest? You know, Kokiri?" Link nodded. "Good! Hey, then you wouldn't happen to have the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, would ya? You DO have it, right?" He nodded again. "HAHAAAAAA!! Just as I thought! OH, look at this! I am SO on the ball!" she said, holding up her hand in triumph. Link obviously hadn't expected the Princess of Destiny to act like this, and showed it by the odd look he was giving her. "Yeah, well..." she started, putting her hand down. 

"So, what's you name, intruder? Your lucky you are who I think you are, otherwise the guards would be all over you right now." He looked surprised at this, and he obviously didn't know she was kidding. "It's sooo fun to be the Princess." She took a step toward him. "I'm just kidding. What's your name?" 

"Link..." he answered hesitantly. 

"Now, where have I heard THAT before? Well, Link, welcome to the castle, I guess." She smiled at him. 

"Thank you, I guess..." he smiled back. "So, who did you think I was?" 

"Oh," she looked away. "Not gonna tell." 

"Why?" 

"Because, you fool, if you wanna talk, we should go INSIDE first!" she gestured toward the door she had entered the garden from. "After you." 

*** 

"Okay, I get to go first. What do you want? I mean, why did you come here?" April asked Link once they were inside. They were walking through the halls of the castle. April was sure no one would find them, and if someone did come, they could always hide or something. April wasn't sure why, she just had a feeling like nobody else should hear the conversation they were having. 

"Well, where do I start?" Link told Zelda, aka April, all about the story she knew all too well of the beginning of his quest to save Hyrule. The Deku Tree, Gohma, you know the bit. (A/N: Plus, I'm too LAZY to write about it. Hehehe.) Only, since this was a realistic dream, she noticed, and some things were different, he told her some things that she maybe didn't want to hear all that much. There was a lot more real violence and risk, obviously, in this dream. April felt sorry for him, and even though she knew it was a dream, she couldn't help it. 

"Wow, that sucks," she said, once he was done. "I'm sorry." She added, quietly, "God, I wish I didn't have to do this." April knew she didn't REALLY have to, it was a dream. But, it seemed like just the right thing to do to make the dream like the game. 

"Do what?" he asked. 

"Oh." She looked back at him, not really knowing what to say. "I guess, well, you'll find out." She shrugged. "Soooooo, okay then. Oh, yeah. Lemme tell you, about my little vision. Wanna hear it?" 

"I guess I came here to talk to you, so it makes sense." 

"All right! Well, let's see. Um, first, I see Hyrule. It's all fine and nice, but then these big old clouds come. There's an evil feeling I can always sense from the clouds. Then, out of nowhere, something comes out of the forest. I think it's supposed to represent you, because it has a fairy and a green, shiny stone. The Spiritual Stone of the Forest. Kinda weird, huh? But, lemme tell you something. You see, there's this evil guy, the King of the Gerudo they call him, and his name is Ganondorf." She made a face as she said it. "Anyway, right now, he and my dad are making a peace treaty. It's really fishy to me. I can sense that that Ganondorf guy has some weird power. I'm sure if you saw him, you'd agree with me that he looks pretty evil. Well, the point is, I'm almost positive he is the one that represents the dark clouds in my dream." 

"You can just jump to conclusions, just like that?" 

"I CAN, and I DID. So, there. I'm almost positive he has an ulterior motive for getting close with my father. Well, you know about the Triforce, don't you? You said the Deku Tree told you about it? Well, I think that's what Ganondorf must be after." 

"Why do you think that?" 

"BECAUSE, why else would he all the sudden decide to get friendly with Hyrule!? I can also sense his hidden, evil power, and I can't imagine what else he would use it for." April knew that this wasn't going to be as easy as just pressing yes or no on the game screen. 

"Also, if he was close with Hyrule, he would have easy access to the other Spiritual Stones." 

"Other ones?" Link asked. 

"Yeah. The Spiritual Stones of Fire and Water. I know for a fact that those two stones would be easy to get to if he had a place in Hylian Court. You see, they are held by races that are loyal to the Royal Family. So, don't you think if he was friendly with us, he would be able to get to those races easier?" 

"Yes, it would. One question, though. What would be the point of getting the Stones, Princess?" 

"Oh, HELLO! Earth to ME! I forgot to tell you that dumb legend. Well, lemme tell you now. This is a legend that's been passed down by the Royal Family for ages. It goes like this. The Goddesses hid the Triforce away in the Sacred Realm. This was because if an evil person got hold of the Triforce, something REALLY bad would happen. So, the Ancient Sages built the Temple of Time to protect the gates to the Sacred Realm from anybody and everybody who wanted the Triforce. Not only that, but they put up a stone door called the Door of Time that you can only open if you have all three Spiritual Stones. That's why you need them. Also, there's another thing you need. You need a little instrument, I like to call, the Ocarina of Time!" 

"Why does everything end in "of Time"?" 

"Because whoever made up these names was an total and complete IDIOT!" She always found it pathetic when she laughed at her own jokes, but to her luck, he was laughing, too. 

"Well, enough of that. I probably don't even need to say this, but I'm gonna. I kinda, sorta, need to get all the stones if I'm gonna keep the Triforce away from Ganonjerk. And, that's where you come in." She looked to him after she said this, and for some reason, he didn't look surprised, at all. "So, will you help me, Link?" 

"Well, after that, how can I say no?" 

She smiled at him. "Thank you! Oh, yeah! I'm gonna be in a good mood all day!" She was going to start rambling off talking, until a tall, dark figure knocked her flat on her back. 

She looked up after opening her eyes to see Link looking down at her, and then his gaze shifted to the dark figure walking away. 

"Um, hey? You just totally knocked down Princess Zelda," he said after it. 

It turned around. "So!?" 

Link backed up a little and looked down to her again. She decided to talk this time. "Well, you could say SORRY, you.... hey, who are you!!?" she called after it. 

"Sorry you weren't paying attention," he, and if you haven't figured it out yet, GANONDORF, said, slyly. 

April tried to think of something princess like to say, but found herself opening her mouth and yelling, "Why, who do you think you are, you damn idiot!? Who the hell do you think you are, talking like that to ME in my own castle!?" 

Ganondorf most likely would have said something back to her, but instead, pointed behind her with a sickening smile on his face. April, now REALLY pissed off, turned around. Of course, right behind her was Impa, and she didn't look very happy. April immediately shrunk down and gave her a pathetic smile. "Um, hi?" 

Impa shook her head at her, and looked at Ganondorf. "Sorry, I think our princess doesn't know when to hold her tongue." April was now even more angry, and she was biting down on her teeth and clenching her fists so her knuckles were turning white. She desperately wanted to yell out again, but she already knew she would never hear the end of this as it was, until the end of the dream. Ganondorf, on the other hand, just smiled and walked away down the hall. April looked after him, and really wish she could go have Link beat him up right now. 

"Zelda?" Impa asked. 

"I'm NOT sorry!" she called over her shoulder at Impa. 

"Fine. You can be sorry later." With that, she left the two youths alone, again. 

"AAAAAAAAAAHH!" she screamed with her head tilted toward the ceiling, once the two adults were out of view. It didn't really matter, as most likely all of the castle heard her, anyway, as her scream resounded off of the many marble walls. 

April had almost forgot about Link, and when she heard the sound of muffled laughter from behind her, she slowly turned her head to face him. "What are you laughing at!?" she asked slowly and forcefully. 

"You. I never expected the so called Princess of Destiny to act like that. I don't think I've ever heard so many cuss words from one girl at the same time." 

"Well!" She crossed her arms in front of her. "I never expected my hero to be so completely RUDE!" She turned her head away. When she turned her head back to him, he was still smiling. "I refuse to smile!" she said, almost smiling, and she clamped her hand down over her mouth. She cleared her throat and attempted to regain what was left of her composure, but she couldn't do it, so she fell down into a nearby bench under a window and just laughed. When she could finally talk again, she said, "Well, Hero, are you satisfied?" 

"Yep." 

"Okay." She shook her head. "Well. Hey, I dunno about you, but I'm HUNGRY!!" she suddenly realized. It was most likely lunch time by now. She hadn't even had breakfast. She thought this was really weird, because she could never be hungry in a dream before. "You want to eat something?" 

"If nobody minds..." 

"Oh, of course not! Oh, and, maybe we can see my dad, too. Let's go." April started walking, and realized she had no clue where she was going. She stopped dead in her tracks, and thought for a moment. "Well, if we came this way, and turned..." she said to herself. 

"What are you saying? You do know where we're going, right?" Link asked her. 

"Um, well, kinda, but......You know, I have not the vaguest clue," she admitted. 

"I think I might be able to get us back to where we were in the garden. Do you think you can find wherever we're going from there?" 

"Yeah. Okay, this is funny. I have to get someone else to help me through my own castle." 

"I guess a lot of weird things are happening in 'your own castle' today," he said as he walked in front of her. 

"Oooooo," she gasped. Once she had watched him walk a distance away, she ran up and pushed him, almost knocking him over. "HA! Don't EVER mention that thing AGAIN!!" 

"Fine, Princess!" He laughed at her again, for the what-th time that day, this author has NO clue. 

*** 

"What do YOU want? And, what is that kid doing here?" one of the servants asked April as she was trying to make her way into the kitchen. "You can't go in here," he said, stubbornly. 

"Oh, I can't, can't I?" April responded. 

"No." 

April shot him a look, and if looks could kill, this guy would have had a hole in his head. "Are you SURE about that, you pompous vacuum cleaner bag!?" 

"Ah, well....." 

"Get outta my way," she said as she shoved past him. She grabbed Link and pulled him with her into the huge kitchen. 

"Oh, whoa. Food," April marveled. 

"Lots of food," 

"Lots and LOTS of food. HEY! Those two people said something like that on the X-Files!" 

"Huh!?" 

'I gotta learn to keep my mouth SHUT!' she silently told herself. "Never mind," she waved it off. 

Someone called behind her, "Hey, Zel! You DO know that there's going to be a BANQUET starting in a few minutes! What are you doing in the kitchen?" 

April turned around to see the same small Zora she had seen earlier that day. "Oh, hi, Ruto!" she said. 

"That annoying butler told me you were in here. I wanted to see what you were doing," Ruto said, stepping in. "What are you doing?" 

"There's a banquet today?" April asked, and Ruto nodded. "Oh, opps. My bad!" 

"HEY!" Ruto said, for the first time noticing Link. "Who's that you're with?" 

"Who, this kid? He's Link. And, I think he will be..." she looked back at him. He was shaking his head, she knew why, but she just smiled. "...joining us for the banquet." 

"Oh, great! I'll hang with you guys!" she said, as she started to walk away from them. 

"Yeah, great!" April called after her. 

"Great," Link said behind her. 

Ruto turned around and added, "Oh, you know, Zel, there's gonna be a dance going on, too." She looked to Link. "I hope your little friend is staying with us for a while." She turned around and left. 

"'Little friend'!?" 

"Double great!" April smiled. 

*** 

'This dream is way more fun than I'd thought it'd be,' April was thinking a couple hours later. Ruto had kept Link entertained while April went to find something different to wear from her room for the banquet. She wouldn't possibly have been able to dance in what she had been wearing. She found a shorter dress of sky blue silk that looked pretty nice on her, considering her ten year old figure. It hadn't taken her very long to put it on and come down to the main hall. She'd actually had to just follow the crowd to the place, as she had NO idea where she was going, otherwise. 

She had been pushed into the crowd and lost among several people with really big hair, but she managed to find a wall and curve her way around it to the area with the food. Around three edges of the large, rectangle room, there were tables and tables of the stuff April had seen in the kitchen. Off to the side of the, toward the middle of the room, there was a large dancing floor. A lively style of music was playing, yet nobody had started dancing yet. Mostly because most people were busy stuffing their faces with the miles and miles of meats, side dishes, and desserts. 'Looks good!' April though, about the food. 

She saw Ruto, along with a Link that looked like he was ready to run away from that scene, over to the far side of the room. She quickly walked over to them, and called to Ruto. She turned around and waved to April. When Ruto was turned away, Link gave April a look that seemed to say, "I am going to kill you." April almost couldn't blame him, she didn't even want to be stuck with the overgrown fishy. But, she just smiled and walked to grab a cup of whatever kind of drink it was that was next to her. 

By this time, some people had had their fill of food, and one brave couple ventured out onto the dancing floor. Almost everyone watched as they started off the dancing, and they weren't bad at it either. Soon, others had joined in the dancing, as well. Just as April was about to turn her head to ask Link if he could dance, he say him being dragged by Ruto over to the dance floor. She had to admit, Ruto was a terrible dancer. It was almost painful to watch. Link most likely would have been good if Ruto hadn't kept spazzing out and stepping on everybody she got close to. Yes, it was very sad. 

When Ruto was in the midst of many people and doing some more crazy little stunts, April walked over, caught Link's arm, and jerked him away from her. Ruto was too busy doing whatever to notice. 

"Thank you!" he said to her, once they were back to the tables. 

"Yes, the fish is pathetic. What 'r ya gonna do." she said while shaking her head. 

For the next couple hours, the two talked, people watched, and other what not that kids would do if they were stuck in the middle of a group of adults. April was glad that now she knew more about Link as a person. She wasn't sure why. Everything seemed dumb that she was doing, since she was going to wake up, any time now. Just wake up..... 

"Are you ready to dance, Princess?" Link had interrupted April's train of thought with this, and everything around her seemed to stop. She hadn't realized it, but it had started to become dark, already. 

"You know what? I dunno how to..." she started. 

"But you can't be any worse than Ruto," he pointed out. 

"Yeah, but if you compare it like that, it's just SAD!" she tried to protest. 

"Come on, just once? Please?" 

"But, oh, er......AW, fine!" she gave up. "But I warn you, I CANNOT DANCE!" She stepped up onto the dance floor. By now, everything had calmed down a little bit, although there were still some people on the floor, April felt like it was too open. 

"You know what?" Link asked her. 

"What?" 

"I can't dance, either." 

"Well, that's nice to know. So, we'll improvise. I've seen kids dance before, it can't be THAT hard, and plus, you've already dragged me up here, so there's no way I'm gonna back down." She gestured for him to come up with her. 

At that moment, a Spanish-sounding tune began to play. April had an idea pop into her head. "Hey! I think I know how I can start this one." April started off a dance like she had seen in a movie. It was her version of a tango. 

She began to dance, and after a while, Link caught on. It must've not been very good, April thought, but she was having a whole lot of fun doing that little made-up, part what she had seen on TV dance. She hadn't noticed, but an amount of people had been watching the young couple at their little improv. When April was finished with her little finale, she looked up from Link to see some people standing around looking. "Well," she said. "We must not suck that bad." 

After a few more of her made up little dances, a slow song started to play. It seemed to be a REALLY warped version of Zelda's Lullaby, only so warped, she couldn't tell. 

"Oh, great. A slow dance. I don't wanna dance to this one..." she said as she started to get off the floor. Before she was off all the way, though, Link grabbed her hand. 

"Oh, don't you want to dance to this one last song?" 

"That's what I've been saying for the last, like, four songs..." April started. "Aw, but what the heck. We might as well......" 

"How are you supposed to stand? Um, I've seen people do it before, is it like..." Before she could finish her sentence, he walked up to her. 

"I think it's like this..." He showed her what he was trying to say by putting her hands, then his, in the right position for a slow dance. 

April, at this new, close, position, blinked, blushed a little bit, then looked up at him and said, "For a guy who doesn't know how to dance, you sure know a lot about how you're supposed to." 

As the song went on for a while, April thought about this whole dream. It was so weird. She wondered if the only reason she could dance here was because it was a dream, and she could just imagine it as whatever she wanted. The other part of her wondered if she really could dance. That same part of her felt a strange comfort in standing so close and dancing with her new friend, Link. That other half told her she was pathetic. She chose to ignore the latter half. 

*** 

Much later in the evening, almost around midnight, the two youths were standing outside of the castle. 

"Well, are you sure you don't want to stay the night, Link?" April asked him. 

"No, I think I should leave now." 

"Oh, okay. Well, I'm glad you came. And, thank you, not only for saying you'll help me with Ganonjerk, but also, for," she hesitated. "...tonight. Dancing and everything. I had fun." 

"So did I." 

"Promise you'll come back soon?" 

"I'll be back." 

"Well, I guess, then, this is good-bye for a time, Hero." She smiled at him. 

"Good-bye, then, Princess." He also smiled at her as he turned around and left for the castle gates. 

"Bye..." She watched him turn into a little dot in the distance, and finally, disappear. 

*** 

***Wow. Can you tell I've never even ATTEMPTED to write a romance-ish story? I hope this will get better. And, I also hope you like it. I am oddly out of things to say. So, bye for now, and REVIEW. If you don't review, THE LITTLE DEMON MONKEYS WILL EAT YOU IN YOUR SLEEP!! See, April!? I don't have to threaten them!! 

April: *sigh* 


	5. Malon

***Hi. Um, well, let's see. This chapter, it may not make much sense at first, but.....just keep reading. You'll get it as it goes. Just a note. The italic writing is what is happening now, and the regular writing is kinda like a flashback. Um, and don't ask me about this chapter. I have no clue in heck where it came from. It just seemed... aw, I dunno! So, here it is. :) 

*** 

_*Click, click, click* The sound of soft yet quick footsteps and heavy breathing filled the halls of Hyrule Castle that night. A ghostlike white figure brushes past. You wonder, Am I seeing things?_

_Chilly midnight air surrounds a desperate girl as she runs blindly for an cloudy destination. Hair a mess, tear stains and fresh tears smearing her face, carelessly still shrouded in a white nightgown, she just runs. _

_Anyone present would ask the question previously stated. Am I seeing thing? After all, who in their right mind would expect the Princess of Hyrule to be running down the halls of the castle at midnight, wearing nothing but her nightclothes? Who in their right mind? Of course, the girls they're seeing isn't really who they think she is. And that is what makes all the difference. _

__*** 

When April awoke again, she expected her annoying sister, her mom, maybe. But instead, she was greeted by that same familiar, yet unfamiliar, view of another girl's life. 

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?" she screamed as she sat up in the bed. 

Impa came running to her. After all, it's not every day you just hear someone wake up and randomly scream "what?", is it? 

"Tell me, how in hell is it possible to be having the same dream for what seems to be two real days in a row? HOW, I ASK YOU!?" April cried as she threw up her hands in frustration. "This dream is getting weirder and weirder! I swear, I'll never play Zelda that much again!!! I wanna PLAY video games! I don't wanna LIVE them!!" (A/N: I couldn't help it. Yes, I got that line from Sailor Moon, the first episode. :) ) 

Impa just watched as Zelda threw this strange fit before even venturing to say anything. "Here's a stupid question. Are you all right?" 

"Does it LOOK like I'm all right!?" April yelled. "How can I be all right if I'm going crazy!? NORMAL people don't have such freakish dreams!" 

"May I remind you, first of all, that you are not a normal person," Impa supplied. 

"That's one right thing. In many respects, I'm not a normal person at this moment." 

"True. Not a normal person. Nor, normal princess it seems now. You are usually okay after you have those dreams. Why is it so different today?" 

"One, because odd, weird, strange, bizarre, crazy things are happening inside my head at this moment. And two, I'm not the princess." April hopped out of bed. 

"What do you mean by that?" 

"Well, here. My name is April, not Zelda. I'm thirteen, not ten. I'm a brunet, not a blonde. I live in the United States of America, not Hyrule. Hyrule is a nonexistent dimension from my Zelda game on Nintendo 64! AND I'M FREAKING LIVING THE LIFE OF MY FAVORITE VIDEO GAME CHARACTER! What is up with that!?" April panted. 

"You're starting to scare me. It's early. Go back to bed, and then, maybe you won't feel so crazy."  
"Point taken. Maybe, if I sleep, I'll wake up!" April again prepared to wake up as she climbed back into the bed. 

"That makes sense," Impa said, as she left. 

*** 

_"Well, it seems you got your hopes too high, chica," April said to herself as she reflected on what was causing her midnight escapade. Her crying had stopped, but her running, if anything, it had only gotten more desperate. Her day couldn't get any worse. Her LIFE couldn't get any worse. She refused to live in a dream world._

__

*** 

"Okay, so apparently that didn't work," April said out loud as she peered out of the bedroom door after a couple more hours of sleep. "But, it's cool. I'll just find something to wake myself up with. If this is a dream, I will wake up if I get hurt really bad. So..." She went out and surveyed the halls for anyone in the halls. No one. So, she commenced with her plan. She saw the marble pillar ahead of her. She walked up to it, drew her foot back as far as she could, and... 

"OW!! Owieeeee! That hurt like a piece of crap! What did you do THAT for, moron!?" she asked herself when her foot bounced back at her from the pillar. 

"So, apparently, that didn't work, either. How am I getting hurt in a dream? Okay, whatever. Time to try something more drastic!" she babbled to herself as she went off to find something more effective to wake herself up. 

"Ah, HA! IDEA! Idea, idea, idea, idea, idea!!" she called out as she screeched to a halt. She whirled around and ran back to the bedroom. She hurried over to the large windows leading to the balcony and yanked them open. She hopped out, and looked over the stone barrier at the moat below it. Her window seemed to be to the side of the castle near the secret entrance to the castle courtyard. It was different, still, than in the game, and it was weird to view it from about ten stories up. She was lucky, though, that at least her window wasn't facing the front of the castle. It was perfect. 

"All right, just climb up here..." she said as she grabbed hold of the barrier and pulled herself on top of it. She stood up, and looked down again. She almost reeled back and feel over when she saw how high she really was, but she managed to regain her balance. "Oh, high," she said in a daze. "TOO HIGH! MUST GO DOWN!" She almost stepped back up over the barrier on to the balcony, but instead, she stopped herself. She worked up every ounce of courage she had, closed her eyes, and threw herself off the edge. 

'What are you thinking? You are the most crazy person I've ever met. And that's saying something!' her mind told her as she seemed to fall in slow motion. The wind whipped through the few strands of loose hair from her hat-like head covering as she plummeted to what she hoped would be consciousness. 

*** 

_"Hope," April mused. "Such a fickle thing."_

_Her desperate run was still breakneck pace, and it refused to halt until she found what she was after. She knew what it was she wanted. She only needed the right way to it. _

_The marble which made clicking sounds against her feet felt to her like a laughing spectator. It seemed to say to her, 'Do you even know what you're doing, little girl?' April would have answered this question with a no, except for the fact that part of her, an unknown, deep part of her, did know exactly what she was doing. It was the part of her that was screaming at her to stop._

_***_

__*SPLASH!* 

Cold, clear water came up from under her to drench April in its crystal contents. Cold, being a word. Freezing, being a more accurate one. This, and also the realization that she was wearing a white skirt shocked April and caused her to struggle to the surface faster. 

"Well, that was DUMB! And, it didn't even WORK!? What a gyp!!" April cried as she thrashed her way over to the stone walkway bordering the moat. She pulled herself over the side of the walkway and fell out onto it as she coughed and sputtered from all the water in her mouth. She was a little too cold yet to stand up. 

A single girl stood awkwardly, leaning against a fence nearby. She had seen the girl in purple and white plummet from a window in the castle to the water below. She gaped as that same girl pulled her way out of the water and collapse onto the sidewalk. She hardly moved except for her coughing. 

"What r' ya tryin' to do, kill yourself?" a voice behind April demanded. She lifted her head up to the voice. In front of her, leaning up, cross armed, against a black iron fence, was a young Hylian girl. She stood with a worried yet indignant expression on her face, and glared with piercing sapphire eyes that screamed with the need for an answer. Her fiery red hair hung down to her waist, and came across her face in unruly bangs. Hylian, definitely, for her pointed ears. She had an oddly Southern accent, and clothes of a ranch girl to match. For someone so young, she had a pretty face. 

"Well, that was halfway my intention," April complained as she stood up. "Why do you ask?" 

"'S not ev'ry day ya see Princess Zelda flingin' he'self out a window," the redhead answered, approaching her. 

"You know who I am. I don't know who you are. I am in a need to know people who know who I am," April mused. 

"Well, ev'ryone knows who you are," she said, laughing slightly. "but, 's no wonder ya don' know who I am. I 'm Malon, of Lon Lon Ranch. 's a pleasure, Princess," Malon said. 

"Call me Ap-um, I mean, Zelda, of course," April almost gave away her real name. 

Malon gave her an odd look. Then, she smiled as if she was going to laugh, again. 

"What?" April asked. 

"Your...skirt!" 

"Huh!?" She looked down. "OH! Crud! Er," she looked back to Malon, who was now laughing out loud. "I would laugh, if it wasn't me. So, now, I gotta be going inside now. So, I'll do that. See ya, Malon!" she called out as she backed up and ran for the castle main gate. 

"See ya!" Malon called from behind her. 

April ran to the gate, and luckily for her, she was able to sneak around the occasional person all the way to her room up in the top of the towers. 

*** 

_"Getting hurt, falling, all normal parts of a dream wake up call are non existent. One thing is for sure. If I do this, there's no way I will be able to stay asleep."_

_'Asleep,' her mind teased her. 'And, are you asleep, 'Princess'?' This only made April run faster toward what she was sure would be coming soon._

_She was still paying no mind to the part of her that was silently screaming at her to stop running._

_***_

Once dressed in something dry, April made her way out of the room, again. She had no clue what she would do that time. She was plain out of ideas. She also didn't know what else to do until she woke up. During the game, you never know what happens to Princess Zelda when Link is off getting the Spiritual Stones. So, April decided to simply try to find her way to anywhere in the castle that would be worth looking at. 

She hadn't really paid it much mind earlier, but now, she noticed that the castle was like a live history museum. She had seen all the decorations and everything, the architecture...but what really caused her to notice was when she reach a hallway full of ancient suits of armor. It looked exactly like something you would see in a history museum. She explored further down this corridor, and found herself going through two huge double door into a large library. The bookcases were massive, and April saw several small staircases branch off to round pillars of books. She wasn't one for books, yet she found this fascinating. 

She walked through the narrow corridors between the book shelves, and she dragged her fingers over some of the spines of the books. She expected to find titles like "The Lord of the Rings", "Oliver Twist" or "To Kill a Mockingbird", but she, of course, found volumes of books she had never seen. One said "A Complete History of the Hylia Dynasty, Vol. 2". She though, who would ever want to read something like THAT!? She did see one book that caught her eye, though. It read, "The Legend". It looked like it could be an interesting fiction book, or something like that. 

April tried to pull it out, and found that it had obviously not been pulled out in a long while. It was extremely hard to get out. April tugged at it with all her might, and she almost went reeling back when it did slide out of its prison. The oddest thing happened after it was removed. April heard a groaning sound, like the sound of an old door which hadn't been opened in years. She turned to her left, and on the wall there, she though she saw the tiniest crack. 

She went over to the wall, and timidly put a hand up to it. Nothing. She touched it more gingerly, and jumped back in surprise when the wall moved to the side to reveal a dark and narrow passageway, lighten by only a few dull torches. It was so full of dust and cobwebs, it looked like nobody had used it in more that a quarter century. Just when April was about to step in, a voice behind her made her jump. 

"What do you think you're doing?" it asked. 

"Um, I...uh...the book, you see, and......" she mumbled, turning around. She saw a gray old woman standing there before her. She was short, and she had her silver hair tied up in a bun. She could have been a Native American, but with an odd and very faint Irish accent. 

"You're better off not getting yourself mixed up in that, lassie.....yet," she added with what seemed to be a twinkle of mystery in her eyes. April thought she could almost see the woman smiling. 

"May I ask, who are you?" April asked as politely as she could. 

"You will know soon, lass. All will reveal itself in due time. Remember, though," she added with newfound importance. "....don't go near that corridor until the time is right. Only know, you have somewhere to go." 

April had not the faintest clue what she was talking about. She looked over her shoulder back to the corridor, but it had started to close. "I don't understand. What..." she started, but when she looked back, the woman was gone. 

"My, people come and go so quickly here," April said, with her best Dorothy voice. 

*** 

_"Weird old lady," she muttered. "Does she enjoy just going around and scaring people with mindless gibberish?"_

_She wondered if anybody in the castle had heard her by now. If so, she didn't care. She would be gone before they got to her, anyway. She considered she wouldn't care even if they came to her. She wasn't going to give up on her plan. And that part of her was not going to stop screaming._

_***_

__April walked quickly out of that library. She had suddenly lost interest in that old lady, and every other thought concerning themselves with her or that book. They were simply NOT going to enter her mind at the moment. April was also not paying attention as she neared the halls at the front of the castle, and didn't notice another presence before it knocked her flat on her back, with it going down the opposite way. 

"Well, somebody's 'n a hurry," the voice complained from across the hall.  
"Oh, hi Malon." April didn't even have to look up. She recognized the voice right away. When she did look up, she say Malon smiling at her. 

"Hey, Princess," Malon said to her. 

"You don't have to call me that," April said, felling uncomfortable. "Anyway, what are you doing in the castle? I thought your dad already went back with you to the ranch." 

Malon seemed surprised at this. "How'd ya know 'bout that?" she asked. 

'Oh, I know from playing the video game,' popped into April's head, but she didn't voice it. "It's a funny story. I'll tell you later." Later, she thought. She would think of some excuse, later. 

"Anyway, what are you doing in the castle," April asked again. 

"Well," Malon blushed slightly. "I...wanted to see you. To see 'f you were okay. Fr'm your lil'..." Malon put her hand up and made a gesture as if it was falling. 

"Oh, that. I bet you wanna know why I did that, huh?" Malon nodded. "First of all, yes I'm okay. Second, I probably couldn't tell you in a million year why I did that. Even if I did, I'm sure you wouldn't believe me." 

"Try me," Malon said. 

"Later." 

"You jus' wanna do ev'rythin' 'later', don' you?" Malon giggled. 

"Why is it that people always laugh at me?" 

"'cause you're funny." 

"Oh, really? But how about if I did....THIS!?" April squeaked as she pulled Malon's loose bandanna off from around her neck off. She turned around and ran a few steps, then turned back. "HOW 'BOUT NOW!?" 

"YOU! You bring me that back, right now, ya hear me!? Malon called after her. 

"Come and get it!!" April called to her. 

"NO!" 

"CHICKEN!!" she called. At this, Malon smiled mischievously and ran after her. She chased her through the hallway, all the way calling for her to give it back, and all the way with April calling back no. 

April stopped suddenly when she felt something cold from the hall in front of her. Malon skidded into her back, and then quickly grabbed the bandanna and fastened it, again. April saw what she had felt from down the hall. I'll give you three guesses on who it was. And I'll give you a hint, his name is GANON! 

Ganondorf walked quickly past the young princess, hardly noticing that she was there. Her saw her, no doubt. His mind told him not to worry. He would deal with her when the time came. She wouldn't be a problem when the time came for his to get rid of her. 

Malon saw April staring at the dark figure in the hallway. She saw the dark face that April put on when he had safely walked past. 

"Who's that?" Malon asked in a whisper. 

"Ganondorf," April spat out, also in a whisper. 

*** 

_"Ganondorf," April mused. "I wonder, what would happen if Zelda suddenly failed to exist? I'm sure Ganonjerk would surely have his way, " April babbled, but it didn't matter now, not to her in the least. _

_She also had thoughts of the ranch girl, Malon, at the same time. What would happen to her? To Link........?_

_She almost slowed down her desperate run, but kept up her pace as she pushed these thoughts out of her head. That same part of her which had been screaming at her, however, would not release these thoughts completely._

_***_

__The giggling of little girls could be heard drifting from the topmost tower of Hyrule Castle. At the core of this tower stood a powerful telescope. 

"Stupid! What does she think she's doing!?" A certain blonde and redhead pair made interesting use of the telescope by spying on the unsuspecting people of the town below 

After their little encounter with Ganondorf, and Malon had her bandanna safely back in her possession, April had asked Malon if she wanted to stay in the castle for a while longer. April liked the people here, and she wanted to know about this one, Malon. She was an interesting character. 

As they watched the people in the town down below, April started to look again around the circular room they were in. It was full of old papers and other various astrological tools besides the telescope scattered around. April also saw books of many kinds, and then suddenly something caught her eye. It was a small table with only one candle on it. It seemed very conspicuous, considering that every other piece of furniture in the room was covering in various items. 

She tugged on Malon's sleeve as she laughed at the people down below. Malon snapped her head up from the telescope, and April pointed toward the table. 

"An', tell me, what is so facinatin' 'bout a candle?" Malon muttered. 

April knew something was up with it. So, she walked over to it, and pulled on it, only to find that it wouldn't budge. 

"So?" Malon questioned when April looked to her for a reaction. 

April suddenly had an idea, and she twisted the candle around. When she did this, she heard a familiar grinding sound. When she looked back to Malon, she saw her looking across the room at a newly opened corridor. 

"So, there," April countered. 

*** 

_"Seems like I'm just running into secret passages all over the place," April muttered under her breath. "I wish I would find a secret way that would help me with THIS, though," she complained to nobody in particular._

_April was becoming quite sick of running, but she knew if she didn't do this now, she'd never work up the courage again. That deep part of her wished that she would have to stop running, so her courage would fail._

_***_

__"It's so beautiful," April said. The sunset was now turning a deep red, and the orange around the setting sphere was a color to remember. Not spoiled by pollution and ridiculous street lights. The chilly wind slowly twirled around two girls. Grass waved, and night creatures could be heard just about to come out for their nightly performance. 

The corridor that the girls found had, surprisingly enough, lead to the roof of the castle. Up at the top there, there wasn't much but the roof, itself. Curved places of a blue tile, and some scattered rocks. One perfect place for watching the sunset. April had wanted to go back, but Malon insisted that they watch. She said she could never the whole sunset form her ranch. 

As the ball of light disappeared, April thought of something. 

"Oh, yeah, Malon?" 

"Hm?" 

"It's getting dark. What were you going to do?" 

"Oh." Malon seemed to just realize that night would soon be coming in on them. "I s'pose I was gonna go home..." 

"But, it'll be all dark and stuff. Listen. Why don't you stay here for the night? It's not like you have something to do, right?" 

"Well, not really, but...." 

"Oh, come on!" April interrupted. "Last time someone came here they left at night, and I thought it was a dumb idea. Why don't you stay? Please?" 

"Um," 

"Come on! Don't be an idiot like that guy was," April tried to convince Malon. 

"Guy?" 

April turned her head away. "Oh." She wondered if she should tell Malon. But then again, why shouldn't she? 

"Tell me! I'll stay 'f you do." 

April brightened up. "Okay. I'll tell you once we go inside." 

The two disappeared back into the castle as night engulfed the grounds. 

*** 

_'April, listen to reason! Why would you even think of something like that? You'll ruin everything? You'll throw everything away if you keep running. Stop. Just stop!' That same part of her continued to weigh down upon her heart, and would not give up in its quest to keep her from reaching her goal. April somehow ignored the heavy feeling, even though now even her desperate pace had been let up. _

_***_

"Oh, but I think ya do," Malon teased April as they sat on her huge bed in the room April had woken up in that morning. April was telling Malon about Link. She had causally left out the part about the Spiritual Stones and all that jazz. 

"I do NOT!" April hollered back. 

"Yes, you jus' HAPPENED to wanna dance with 'm, even when you didn' know how!" 

April pushed her off the bed, then bent over the side to look at her from above and said, "Look. You're at a party with a bunch of adults. You, the fish chick, and some guy are the only kids there. What you gonna do!? Just sit there and EAT!?" 

"Not ME!" Malon giggled. 

"Are you tired yet!?" April asked. 

"Nope!" 

"AAAAAH!!" April cried as she brought her pillow down on an unsuspecting Malon's head. When she brought it down to strike her again, Malon caught it, and it wound up right in April's face. April grabbed another pillow, and after not too long, the room was snowing goose feathers. Both girls were on the floor, laughing their heads off. 

*** 

_'That was you're last coherent moment before you decided to go NUTS! APRIL!!! Listen!'_

_Same part of her. Same story. Same refusal to believe or listen to anything._

_***_

__April woke with a start. It was dark. A light down the hall, maybe, but nothing else. April got up and expected to feel carpet. She felt stone. 

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Malon curled up on the floor next to the big bed, wrapped in a ton of blankets. 

"No, no, this isn't real," she told herself. This wasn't happening. Why did she keep waking up in this!? 

Without thinking, she ran out of the door. Jumping wasn't enough. She knew immediately something that would be. 

The only thing she overlooked was a certain redhead watch her leave, then follow after her. 

*** 

_April ran with even more intensity now. She could see it. Just up ahead. A pale light was shining out the door of the room. Perfect for her. She would be able to see what she was doing._

_The big room which the banquet had been held in was her destination. When she'd left, she noticed a display on the wall. Some old stuff, like you'd find in a museum. Not much of interest. Then, anyway._

_As she screeched to a halt in the room, she could see it over in the far corner of the room. The things she had seen earlier yesterday. 'Ha. Yesterday,' she thought, ironically._

_She walked over to it. The silver glitter of the treasure in this crazy midnight treasure hunt. 'Hardly,' she told herself, as she smiled sadly._

_"What does she think she's doing!?" Malon asked herself as she followed the princess into the dully lit banquet hall. She was looking at something. Something was shining from a display, Malon wondered what it was._

_April stopped short when she was close to the object. She suddenly had tons of visions fly into her head. Of her sister, her friends at school, her parents, her annoying little brother, games she liked to play, things she liked to do. Then, people she met here. Link, and Impa, Malon..._

_'Just do it,' she told herself, roughly. She wondered, as she reached out her hand, what anyone had put a thing like this here for. Whatever the reason. She didn't care. She brought her hand closer and closer to the cool surface of metal, just inches away._

_Malon saw the princess reach for something. What was it? She couldn't see clearly, from so far away. She dared a few steps closer to her, and saw when she was about two or so yards away, what it was._

_A dagger._

_April looked down into her reflection from the glittery surface of the blade. She most likely looked like a mess. Who cares, she thought. I'm gonna be gone in a second, anyway. She pointed the potentially deadly blade at where she thought her heart should be. _

_Malon, at seeing what the princess held, and not seeing anything else to do, ran at the girl._

_April stood stock still, and the dagger slipped out of her grip as she felt small hands around waist. The metal made a terrible crashing sound as it dropped to the floor. Suddenly, what she had been about to do hit her like something she'd never felt before, and she didn't realize she was crying until she tasted salty tears in her mouth._

_Malon, still holding on to the girl, brought them both down to floor level. She turned the other girl around in her arms, and was about to ask what in the name of Din she had been about to do. But, the look on her face, and the tears that were now flowing freely from the girls eyes, made her stop._

_April, without thinking, flung her arms around Malon. She didn't know. She just, didn't know. Everything was coming at her so fast. She was now trembling and crying into Malon's shirt front._

_Malon knew she could always ask, later. Right now, she thought the little princess just needed someone to be there for her. None of the two knew exactly what was going on, and April was especially confused, and maybe glad for Malon being there. Yes, she was. She would always be, grateful for that one moment where luck, and maybe destiny, had decided to intervene. _

__*** 

***Ah. Well, okay. Again, don't ask where this chapter came from. It just popped into my head. I wrote it, here it is, now, live with it and REVIEW!!! Review, because I WILL NOT make my crazy monkeys stop annoying you all unless I get a few more good ones. :) 

Hehehe. Okay. Love, from, SailorZelda~ 


	6. Destiny is not a game

*** FREAK!!! Did I take long enough putting up a new chapter for this story!? I'm sorry. I had a lot of crap at school to deal with. Also, I've been trying to cut down my amount of time on the computer, because I need a life. Totally. ANYWAY............. 

This story is going to be a mix of a lot of stuff. I know how it is going to end, but I need to figure out what happens in between. It will most likely be REALLY long when I'm done, because I'd get all paranoid if I didn't add all the stuff I wanted to add. So, enough of that. 

April: DO WE HAVE TO LISTEN TO ANY MORE OF YOUR MINDLESS BABBLE!? 

Me: IT'S NOT MINDLESS, YOU SUICIDAL MORON!!! 

April: Shut up. 

Me: Make me. Anyway, here is the chapter. This one isn't as weird as the last one. Sorry about that. :) 

*** 

"Honey, aren't you hungry?" a worried king of Hyrule asked his daughter at the breakfast table. 

April though about this for a moment. She was hungry. She just was sick to her stomach sick of everything. She wanted to sleep, even though she had just woken up. Sleep didn't usually leave her feeling as tired as she was. She looked at him with an expression which said, "Are you a complete and total idiot, or do I have to tell you the answer to that question?" 

"Can I be excused?" she asked, getting up. She was already half way out of the room when she got an affirmative answer. 

April didn't know why she was going there, but she did anyway. As she stepped out into the midmorning sun, the tropical-like garden setting covered in a prism dew greeted her in the round courtyard. It was beautiful, however, April hardly noticed it. She couldn't think about anything but the night before. Malon had left early that morning. It left her almost alone. 

*Suicide. You almost committed suicide,* her mind told her, over and over. It made her want to throw up. She flopped down onto the grass. It was wet, most likely going through her clothes, but she didn't care. 

As soon as she closed her eyes, a vision disturbed her mid peace of mind. There were dark, thundering storm clouds. Only that, and then a silhouette. She saw a horse with two riders, and another, darker horse follow after it. She didn't even have to second guess herself about who they were. The first riders were Zelda, well, herself, and Impa riding away from the caste, and the other was Ganondorf following them. She wondered why she would be seeing this, all the while looking on at it from above somewhere. She realized she had been looking down, then looked to her side to see another silhouette come out of the shadows just as she looked up. 

As it came into what little light there was, she saw what seemed to be an adult version of the Princess Zelda. She hadn't seen the end of the game to know for sure, but she somehow could tell that's who it was. What was the real kicker was that it spoke to her. 

"April," she said, in a voice fitting all the regal beauty she possessed. 

"What the hell do you want?" April asked, not feeling at all willing to talk to her. 

"Aren't we cranky this morning?" she asked, with a small smile. 

"Try waking up one morning and figuring out that your entire life is being taken away from you and you have to grow up as somebody else. Also, try adding three years onto your life, me knowing that I've already been ten years old and I'll never get to be me again. Then, tell me how gracious you feel." 

Zelda lost all humor at this. "You don't know how lucky you were that Malon was there last night." 

"Hm." April shrugged indifferently and looked away. "I don't see what I'm supposed to do now," she said. 

"Do you still see this as just a game?" Zelda asked, almost sounding angry. 

April looked back and considered this. Did she think this was still a game? Her brain was still having trouble adjusting to the fact that she wasn't still a hormonally driven teen, but her body had almost gotten used to it. She didn't really know the answer to that question. She had switched identities, but she was still herself in a way. How could any of this be real, is what her mind told her. 

"Well, I can tell you right here, right now that this is as real as it gets," Zelda told her. 

"So, what!? Now, you can read minds!?" 

"There's an advantage to you being me, in a way." 

"Well, that doesn't change the fact that I won't be able to do this. I can't," April said, looking away again. 

Zelda walked over to her at this point. April shuddered internally at the intensity in the other girls stare. "You can, and you WILL do this, because destiny is certainly not just a game," she said, face to face with April. 

April jumped, looking again at her supposed future self, as the image cracked, and whiteness surrounded everything. 

Her eyes flew open after that little dream sequence. It must have lasted for longer than she thought it did, because she noticed the sun cast its light farther into the courtyard. It was strangely quiet, and not even the birds seemed to inhabit the trees just then. April looked up at the sky. The perfect, blue, cloudless sky. It was ridiculous, she thought. Why was everything else to calm and peaceful when she felt as if her emotions were going to fly right out of her and destroy whatever got in their way!? 

She didn't have time to consider this as she heard people approaching her from the entrance to the courtyard. 

".....don't care what you say, just find her!" a voice growled. 

She knew that voice. She already hated it. 

She decided she didn't very much feel like talking to who she knew it was, and she didn't feel like leaving. So, she crept behind a few small trees and looked through the branches. As she did, she saw a woman with a bronze complexion walk in with a tall man in black armor. Ganondorf. 

Had April completely lost her sanity, she would have liked to kill him right then and right there. She would have liked to because she thought if maybe what happened in the game had ended, she would be able to go home. And with that came the realization that she wouldn't be able to go home for more than seven years if what she thought was true. At the moment, she wanted to think about anything but that, so she listened in on their conversation. 

Ganon looked nervous about something, and he was obviously trying to hide it from the Gerudo woman accompanying him. April, however, could see clearly through his pretend calm. She always had been good at seeing right through people. 

"Milord, we've got our girls at all the key points in Hyrule, she's nowhere to be found," the woman replied. 

"Then you need to be looking harder," he muttered as he walked slightly ahead of her. 

"I realize that this is of great importance to you..." she attempted. 

"Oh, do you? If you knew that, then you'd have found her by now!" he hollered, turning back to her. 

"But we've looked everywhere," the protested. 

"She didn't just disappear! She's got to be somewhere, and you are going to find her! You looked everywhere you said?" 

"Yes," she said, now seeming to become unsure of herself. 

"What about the desert? The Spirit Temple?" 

The Gerudo woman seemed to falter for a moment as she realized that nobody had thought of that. It was at this point that April realized they must've been talking about Nabooru. "Well, the desert.....no one can cross it alone, and it would be pointless to....." 

She was silenced as Ganon backhanded her across the face. "You idiot! I'm surrounded by incompetence!" he yelled. 

April's eyes popped open at this. She was never someone who would let another person be picked on, or worse. That was NOT the way you treated a woman. 

Before she realized what she was doing, April stood up from her hiding place and called to him, "Hey, you! Leave her alone! Do you realize how much bigger that her you are!?" Only after she had said it did she seem to see what she was saying, and she immediately felt like hiding again when he turned to face her. Her mouth had been slightly hanging open, but she snapped it shut when he started to walk toward her. She wanted to run away at this point, or at least back down when he was standing over her, but she kept her composure. 

"What are you doing here, Princess?" he asked in a growl. 

April glared defiantly at him, with a lot more courage than she felt, and replied, "There's no need for formalities, Ganon. I know perfectly well what you're up to. And, I'd suggest you make sure there's nobody listening in on your conversations about 'important' things such as your problems with Nabooru before you go giving away all of your secrets." She'd said this all in one breath, and she waited for his response, which was surprise. It looked like he would have stepped back from her when his eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to say something. 

He closed it before telling her, "You may think you know a lot, girl. But you and I both know, that is if you really do know, that no pesky little princess will be able to stop it. Nobody can." He seemed triumphant as he turned back to his companion and pulled her up to her feet. 

After they were out of hearing range, April said, "That's where you're wrong. That's where my friend Link comes in." She smiled to herself. Maybe being stuck here wouldn't be so bad after all... 

*** 

***Somebody tell me to stop being weird. 

April: STOP BEING WEIRD!!! 

Me: SHUT THE FREAK UP!!!!! 

Oh, well. I'm trying to get past all this heavy stuff, don't worry. Next chapter will be less, um, depressing? I don't know if you'd call if depressing, whatever the heck..... 

This chapter was REALLY short. I did that on purpose because I know if I had done all the events I was gonna do, this chapter would have been longer that the last chapter, which was long, too. I needed just this small chapter to get some things across. Hey, I needed to get April at least semi un-depressed! 

April: HEY!!!!! 

Pay no attention to that nut behind the curtain. 

April: I RESENT that statement!!!!!! 

Oh, go jump off a building. Oh, wait........you did already........ 

April: SHUT THE HELL UP!!!!!!!! 

Okay, I'll stop being a freak! For now......hehee. 

So, hasta la bye-bye, nice people who will review this story or else! 

~SailorZelda 


	7. A Brief Meeting and a Goodbye

**April: We're sorry, but the author of this tale you have requested is unavailable due to being tied in a closet with a sock stuck in her mouth for making me wait so long to see what happens to me in Hyrule! Grrr! 

*From a closet* ??? :: in a muffled voice :: :MUMSP MUUUUUH!!! 

April: What now!!??? 

???: IIHM BEEHG VIONLLLLLATE! WHITIHE IIZ ANHYOE! EE WUANA MDO U AUMOR MOT! 

April :: opens closet :: : What do you want!? 

:: SailorZelda is tied to a chair in the closet :: :MMMMMMMMMMMM!! 

April: WHAT?? :: rips tape of her mouth :: 

SailorZelda: MMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!! :: spits out sock :: OWIE!! What was THAT for?? YOU MORON! 

:: April makes a scary face and waves the tape at her :: 

SailorZelda: Uh..hehe? Sorry! 

April: What did you say before?? 

SailorZelda: What I said was : "HELP MEEE!!" and then, " I'M BEING VIOLATED! WRITER IS ANNOYED!! I WANNA DO A AUTHOR'S NOTE!!" and then, "AAAAAAAAAAAA!!" and then, "AAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!" 

April: SHUT UP! Okay, you can have one minute to do the author's note! 

SailorZelda: ALRIGHT! This is what I was going to say in my A/N! 

::: Hi, again! 'Tis me. Um, why has nobody reviewed this story in SOOOOOOOOOOO long!? ME IS STARTING TO GET ANNOYED!!!!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!! Run away in horror! I'm gonna get you! NO, WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WAS KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hmp. 

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell, I'm doing another chapter. Maybe I can understand why nobody reviewed, because the last 2 chapters were kinda off the wall.....just weird. Maybe a little depressing. Oh, what the freak! This story was supposed to be HUMOR!! SOMEONE TELL ME TO STOP BEING AN ANGSTY WRITER!!!! 

April: STOP BEING AN ANGSTY WRITER!!!!! You're making me depressed! 

Oh, shut up. My minute is not over yet! Anyway. I think this story will return to it's un-depressing state. I just need a few more things to happen, before she...............Oh, NO!! I'm going to RUIN it! You'll just have to wait and see what happens!!!! 

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, here's the chapter.::: 

April: Are you quite finished? 

SailorZelda: Yep. 

:: April shoves the sock back in her mouth and slams the closet :: 

SailorZelda: MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

*** 

"Zelda?" 

Zelda, aka April, was too deep in her ravine to hear anything that existed at the time. After she had decided that she would play this "game", she had gone deep into thought, as she often did when something very important happened in her life. 

"Zelda......?" 

But after she came to an affirmative conclusion that she for sure would try to finish this, her mind cloud shattered and she whirled around. And for the second time turning around too fast in this same place, she slipped and fell. 

"Ow," she mumbled. She looked up and saw.......Guess who? 

"Deja vu," she said when she saw Link standing over her. "You're not gonna laugh this time?" 

He shook his head. "Thanks," she said as he helped her up. 

"So, we meet again, Hero," April said when she regained her composure. 

"Of course." 

"Let me guess: you have a Spiritual Stone? A red one, by chance?" 

"Yeah," he said as he pulled it out for her to see it. 

"How pretty!" she said. "Wow, it's even more cool in person!" 

"Did you see a picture of it before or something?" 

April thought. "Uh, you COULD say that. Anyway, so what have you been doing?" 

Link gave her a weird look. 

"Uh, hehe. Dumb question. 'Yeah, um, fighting monsters, saving living rocks called Gorons...' Does that pretty much cover it?" April said. 

"Pretty much," he said, but was oddly smiling. 

"Why are you smiling? Doesn't it get annoying to have to go saving all these people just because I told you to?" 

"That's not the only reason. Yeah, it gets annoying sometimes. But I feel, somewhere deep down, that this is what I have to do. And, you should have seen the faces of some of those Gorons when they were told that a ten year old is the one who saved them!" 

April was shaking her head in disbelief. "You're really something," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked uncomfortable for a second. "You know, Link, you're a much better person than I am. If it was me, I'd just wanna get that stone and be outta there. It'd be too much on me to care, really." 

"That doesn't sound like you," he said, seeming to defend her. 

She shook her head, again. "Never mind." She took her hand away, and turned her head. 

She suddenly remembered something, and jerked her head back in his direction. "Oh, geeze. I just remembered something. I was supposed to teach you this song......" 

Before she could finish, Link said, "You attendant, Impa, showed it to me before I left the grounds that day I was here." 

"Oh, good." She breathed a sign of relief. "I totally forgot about it when you were here the first time! Hey, it's me who's supposed to know all this!" 

"Why do you know so much about it, anyway?" 

April considered this. She could say, "From my real life, from a little black box called the N64." Yeah, that would make perfect sense to him. So, she said, "Something about me being the so called 'Princess of Destiny' makes me highly sensitive to these weird dreams I've been having. This gut feeling says that it's prophecy. And Impa says it's prophecy." 'And Nintendo says it's prophecy,' she thought as she smiled to herself. 

"What's so funny?" Link asked. 

"I find it highly ironic that two ten year olds are going to save the world," she said quickly. "Well, three ten year olds and five adults....." she added when she thought about the Sages. 

"Huh?" Link said, confused. 

"Oh, something you'll figure out later." She wasn't sure if she should say anything about the Sages, and her being the missing Seventh Sage. 

"Which reminds me," she said. "The other ten year old," she said more to herself than to him. "The next place you need to go is Zora's Domain. You'll find the Spiritual Stone of Water there." She smiled slyly. "Along with a very familiar fish-girl." 

"Nayru, you don't mean Ruto!" he said. 

"Yep. The one and the same." She thought for a moment. "Just to give you a hint, remember when you first get to Zora's Domain, play my lullaby outside the waterfall, then go right to wherever the King of the Zoras is. Then, remember to play the 'diving game'," she said, mysteriously. "...before you go to Lake Hylia through the tunnel." 

"How do you know all that?" he asked, slightly amazed. 

She gave him a Cheshire cat smile. "One of my perks of being Princess." 

"O-okay," he said. "Um, Zelda?" 

"Hm?" 

"I think I should be going now." 

"So soon?" she pouted. 

"Yeah, I think the sooner we have those Stones, the better." 

"Oh," she said, her eyes downcast. She remembered that from this time, she wouldn't see him again except for on horseback with Impa as she fled the castle. She didn't want him to leave just yet. But she also couldn't deny the feeling that it wouldn't work out exactly like the game, and they might have already left the castle by the time he got the Stone. So she quickly looked up. 

"Go then, Hero. I think you're right, we do wanna finally reveal Ganondorf's plot, right? So, I....." she hesitated. "....guess I'll see you then, huh?" 

"Good-bye, then, Princess," he said, as he turned to leave. He also had the feeling that he wouldn't be seeing her again, for a long time. 

April watched him leave, but before he was too far away, she called out, "Wait, Link?" 

"Yeah?" He turned back to her. 

"Um," she said, and before she could stop herself, she flung herself out and caught him in an awkward embrace. "Bye, Link," she said into his shirt, then let go. 

He looked unsure at her, not at all sure what to say. So, he reached for her hand and kissed it cordially, before turning on his heel and running for the exit of the garden. 

April stood stock still for a moment, before her open mouth transformed into a wide grin. She turned her head upward and laughed at the sky, holding her hands to her mouth. 

Nope, not too bad at all........ 

*** 

**April: *standing over SailorZelda with tape* THAT'S IT!????? 

SailorZelda: *nods* 

April: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And. AAAAAAAAAAAAW! I think I have a crush! Tee hee! 

SailorZelda: 'Tee hee' this, you piece of crap! *Spits sock at her* 

April: GRRRRRRRR! *shuts closet* THAT'S IT!!!!!!! I'm holding SailorZelda HOSTAGE!! OKAY!?? All you, yeah you, MORON! All you readers! I'M HOLDING SAILORZELDA HOSTAGE UNTIL SHE GETS AT LEAST TWO REVIEWS! Yeah, that's a dumb ransom, but I don't think you guys have rupees, dollars are useless to me, now. *sigh* Okay? *huge, really sad, puppy dog anime eyes* Please? THANK YOU!! 

Signing off! April* 

as SailorZelda~ 


	8. The Escape

***SailorZelda (still in closet): April? 

April: WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!? 

SailorZelda: I love you, too! -_-` 

April: You BETTER make this chapter longer than the last one, OR ELSE!!!!! 

SailorZelda: Don't worry, my precious creation. I've got this sucker all planed out! 

April: THE WHOLE THING!? YEEEEEEEEEEEEAH! NOOOOOW I love you! ^.^ 

SailorZelda: Well, then next four chapters and the last chapter. 

April: *stops* You suck. 

SailorZelda: Yep. Okay, all you readers! Just to let you know, my threat still holds, and I BETTER get at least one more review! (Keep in mind that I am writing this before I have gotten 14 reviews, because then as soon as I do, I can post this up!) IF I DON'T, I SWEAR TO THE HYLIAN GODDESSES THAT I WILL NOT FINISH THIS STORY!!!!!! Enjoy this chapter, or die! *JK!* 

*** 

April found that, when she tried, it wasn't so hard to get adjusted to castle life. Sure, Impa was constantly waking her up at six in the morning, and she constantly had to attend dinner parties and meet with snobby courtiers and all that. But the time she did get to herself could be spent doing at least semi-interesting stuff. 

Not her favorite things, but it was okay. She kept finding herself absently searching for an N64, but when she caught herself doing that, she immediately pushed the thoughts out of her mind and did something else. 

One of her favorite things to do in the castle was visit the library, which was luckily just down the hall from her room. No, not necessarily to read.....which she did on occasion. But, the library was also the equal to a museum. There were artifacts that she assumed to be from all throughout Hyrule and from the lands around it. There were so many things to look at, she found herself always needing to come back and look at the rest. 

When in the library for the first time since seeing that strange lady, April had considered moving that book again. She desperately wanted to know what was down that corridor. But, then she thought about the woman's words, that she would know when the 'time was right', whatever that meant. So, she decided she would leave it alone until she was sure she needed it. 

Also when in the library, April hoped that she would meet her again, so she could ask her what she was talking about the first time she had meet her. She was starting to get scared that she would never get to ask her, though, because it she had a feeling that she would be making her escape from the castle very soon. 

On that subject, April tried to stay as far away from Ganondorf as she could. She'd already seen him about four times since she'd woken up here, and that was enough for anyone. She also had a feeling that he knew partly what she was going to do, and she tried to never be in the same room alone with him. 

It had been about four days since Link had left, and April started having thoughts about what she was sure would happen in a few nights. She thought about the game, and how Zelda giving the Ocarina of Time to Link turned out in Ganondorf getting the Triforce. She started to wonder if she should follow that plan. Well, why not? She knew the future of this, so to speak, and she thought it might be best to use it in this case. 

But she also had another thought, and that was how she was going to keep the Ocarina hidden if she did take it with her from the castle. What was she going to do? Open the Door of Time by herself? No. And also, what if Ganondorf found Link when he was supposed to be hidden in the Sacred Realm? What if......he killed him? 

When that thought came to her mind, April immediately abandoned her plan to alter the course of events. 

*** 

April awoke one midnight to find a loud storm going on outside. She saw a flash of thunder that illuminated her whole room, and then after a moment she heard a loud crash of thunder that made her jump slightly. She had never really been very comfortable with thunder and lightning storms, they always made her nervous for some reason. 

April listened hard for the sound of any other person awake. The castle seemed quiet. Oddly quiet. 

Then, suddenly, April heard what seemed to be the beginning of a scream, before it was quickly cut short. April, after a second, started to doubt she had really heard it in the first place, and blamed it to her jumpy nerves. 

As she was starting to lay down again, she heard several pairs of feet rush down the hall right outside her door. That sound, she couldn't deny. 

Another sudden flash of lightning alerted her to a shadow dangerously close to her bed. Right when she was going to scream, she felt a hand clamp down over her mouth. She grabbed it, in hopes of pulling it away. Before she made any efforts, though, she heard Impa's voice saying, "Zelda, it's me." 

April relaxed considerably. Impa took her hand away, and just when April was going to ask what was going on, Impa said, "The castle is under attack. It seems you were right about Ganondorf and his Gerudo. The castle is now full of them, and we need to find a way out." 

"What about-" April was going to saw 'what about the King and Queen', but Impa cut her off. 

"I'm afraid that your mother and father were the first ones attacked," she said with sympathy. 

April sighed. She had only known the two for a bit more than a week, but she had found them to be very nice. 

But there wasn't time to worry about that, now. April reminded herself of what she was sure was going to happen that night, and so she quickly slid out of the bed and pulled on a dress, before remembering something fairly important. 

"Impa!" she said, still in a whisper but fairly urgently. "Where's the Ocarina?" 

"What?" 

"The Ocarina of Time! I need it!" 

Impa seemed unsure, but she pointed to a chest to April's right. April threw it open and dug for a second, before pulling out the precious blue instrument. She tucked it safely in the front of her shirt, and turned back to Impa. 

"I think I have an idea of where we need to go." 

*** 

(***SailorZelda: THAT'S IT! 

April: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!???????????? 

SailorZelda: Joke, joke! You really can't take a joke, neh?) 

*** 

Impa, with April close in tow, went down the hallway to the library. April had said that she thought it was the best place to go, and that there really wasn't any time to explain. She had noticed that they had to stop and hide constantly, because there were Gerudo everywhere. 

'No wonder,' April thought. '...that lady told me I'd have somewhere to go. Otherwise, I don't think we would be able to get out of here at all!' 

Her mind still raced, nonetheless. She nearly had a heart attack when one of the Gerudo woman almost saw them. But, after a lot of dodging, waiting, and hiding, April and Impa finally made it to the library. 

When they got there, Impa searched intently from the doorway for any sign of Gerudo woman. She gave April the okay, and April crept into the dark room. She didn't need any help finding the bookcase where the book she needed was. She felt her way alone the shelf where the book was until she felt the rough spine of the book called 'The Legend'. 

Her hand shifted across the spine, and the she felt for both ends and gave it a tug. It slid out fairly easily this time, maybe with the help of April fully adrenaline-filled body. She heard the groaning creek of the wall opening, and then waved to Impa to follow her. The older woman followed hesitantly, partly wondering what in all of Hyrule the Princess was doing. 

April put both her hands of the small crack in the wall and pushed it, resulting in it sliding to make the opening bigger. April dashed through it, followed closely by Impa. 

April, without really even thinking, held onto the book. In the dull light of the torches, April glanced down at it's dark green cover. In golden letters on the spine, it read, "The Legend" in fancy lettering. But what April found odd was that it looked like something like dust was underneath the letters. April, while still running, absently brushed it away, to reveal the words, "of Zelda". 

April stopped in mid step. She felt Impa bump into her, nearly sending them both to the floor. But April was too busy looking at the book. She turned it over to the cover, and dusted it off completely. Sure enough, she found the full title read, "The Legend of Zelda". April's mouth hung open. 

Before any thoughts could register, April felt Impa pushing her further down the corridor. "Come on, we've got to go!" she heard her say. She quickly resumed her running pace. 

From behind them, in the library, an old woman gazed first at an empty part of the shelf, then to the open corridor. Quietly, she said, "Be safe, little one. We shall meet again." 

*** 

As the corridor ended, April found herself in a place she didn't recognize, at all. It was outside the castle for sure, because when April looked back, she could see its tall spires. When April turned her head back, she found herself almost crashing headlong into a white horse. She steadied herself, and then turned back to Impa. 

"Wha....?" she asked, for lack of anything else to say. The horse was saddled and tied loosely to part of a fence. 

"It seems as if it was waiting for us," Impa said. 

Before hesitating any further, Impa jumped up onto the saddle and helped April up, too. They quickly untied the horse and made a break for the gates of the Castle Grounds. 

April didn't even dare look back, because she knew almost for sure what she would see if she did. 

As they made their way closer to the Hyrule Market, April tried hard not to think that they might get caught, or that she wouldn't end up seeing Link. She tried to occupy herself with the scenery that was flying past her. A dusty trail lead from the castle to the market, and April noticed that it was well worn from wagons and travelers of all kinds. Of course, there was nobody present on the midnight, which made April feel a little bit better. 

They entered the market, and April noticed that it was much more like a city than a market, although her mind was not at all set for thinking ironically at the moment. There was a main center, where there were shops lining all sides, and many twisting alleys leading away from it. Streets, carts, and stray dogs caught her eye. But, nothing got her attention more than what she saw of the very tip top of the Temple of Time. She could feel an odd feeling radiating from what she could see of it, a nervous feeling that almost matched her own. 

They rapidly approached the drawbridge leading out onto Hyrule Field. Of course, it was closed at night. April wondered if it would be down in time for them to go out. 

She heard Impa suddenly shout, "Open the bridge, in the name of the Princess of Hyrule!" 

April saw a soldier sleepily stick his head over the bridge at the top of the gate, and then quickly turn behind him. Within a second, she saw the bridge slowly begin to lower down. April slowly released the breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. 

She dared a look over her shoulder, at first not seeing anything. She was about to look back over her shoulder, when she saw a black horse slowly gaining on them from the other side of the market. April let out a small squeak, then looked forward just as they were about to go over the drawbridge. 

*** 

Link made his way to the closed bridge of Hyrule Market, all three Spiritual Stones safe in his possession. He figured he would have to wait until morning to take them to Princess Zelda...in the rain, of course. Why do these things always happen to me? he asked himself. Though the storm seemed normal enough, he still couldn't shake this odd feeling of something wrong going on within the market. That's when he saw the bridge start to lower. 

April, when having turned her head forward again, noticed Link out of the corner of her eye. She looked at him desperately. There wasn't any time for her to give him the Ocarina herself. She knew that, were she to throw it to him, it would most likely break because of her adrenaline altered aim. She couldn't count on it landing safely in the water outside the market like in the game. But she couldn't keep it with her, either, with the thought of her earlier decision not to alter the order of events. 

These thoughts quickly worked their way into and through her head in a matter of a second. As Link quickly went past her, she realized her only option was to try for a lucky toss. Before Ganondorf had come out of the drawbridge, April gathered all the courage she had and threw that small blue woodwind toward the moat bordering the market. 

Things seemed to go in slow motion as the object hurled in Link's direction. April held her breath as is began its decent toward the ground. Just when she thought it was going to crash into the ground and shatter, along with her hope, it broke the surface of the water. She cried out in happiness, and called to Link, wildly waving her arms toward the slowly sinking instrument. 

"Link! That Ocarina! GET IT!" she called out to a confused Link. 

Just as he turned back toward the drawbridge, and Impa and the Princess were safely hidden in the darkness of night from any eyes who would see them, Ganondorf came galloping on his horse out of the gates. 

April looked back for as long as she could, thanking whatever force that had helped her to throw it safely. Also, she thanked it for preventing Ganondorf from seeing the Ocarina land. As she caught her last glimpse of Link in what she was sure was to be at least seven years, she turned her head to the path that lay ahead of her, the future. 

Although all this occupied her mind, nothing was more urgent, she told herself, than finding a safe spot to evade Ganondorf pursuit. She knew that Link would keep him occupied for a minute with his attempt to protect them, but she also knew that he would come after them. And on that mater, April was completely clue less. From this moment, she had no idea what to do. She had left her game at home at a very unfortunate point, she realized. She had no clue in all the world what happened to Zelda at this point. All she knew was that she was supposedly safe, and she was supposed to meet Link in the Temple of Time when he finished all the five temples of Hyrule. She had no idea what Zelda did for seven years, and how she managed to keep herself from Ganondorf. 

She had no clue how she was going to stay safe for seven _minutes_ at that moment. She realized that they were heading in the direction of Gerudo Valley, but she knew that Impa wouldn't be stupid enough to take them there. She was simply trying to get them as far away from Ganondorf as she could. There wouldn't be anywhere for them to go or hide if they didn't think of something fast. 

She suddenly realized that Lon Lon Ranch was also in the path that they were heading. She remembered a certain friend she had meet earlier in the week, and suddenly a place to hide. 

She knew they would be safe enough in the darkness of the night from Ganondorf for a moment while they entered the ranch. So, April turned her head back to Impa and said, "The ranch! We could hide in there!" 

"It's as good of an idea as any," Impa figured, as they turned their horse toward the ranch. They slipped inside, and the horse stopped short inside the gates. Impa slowly lead the horse inside the stable that was close to the gates, and they entered it quietly. 

Not to far away, a certain Gerudo king gave up his search for the Princess for the time being. Instead, he turned his attention toward following a certain young boy to what he was sure would be the beginning of his conquest over Hyrule. 

*** 

***April: Hm........not so bad! 

SailorZelda: I told you I would make it longer! ;P 

April: Well, author lady! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW!?? 

SailorZelda: :: in a whisper :: You see, readers, she never got to the point in the game where you find out Sheik is Zelda. 

April: WHO am I, now?? 

SailorZelda: Ah, oops! :: takes out her magical author character mind eraser machine from the ropes that tie her to the chair :: *ZAAAAAAP!!!!!* :: April's last seven seconds of memory are erased :: 

April: :: blinks :: What was I doing, now? 

SailorZelda: You were just about to let me out of these ropes! 

April: I was? Well, oka.........HEY, WAIT!!!!! DON'T COUNT ON IT, YOU MORONIC AUTHOR! YOU ERASED MY MEMORY AGAIN, DIIIIIIIIDN'T YOU!!!!?????????????????//// 

SailorZelda: Uhhhhh.......... 

April: Gimme that machine! 

SailorZelda: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! :: it gets taken :: WUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! 

Well, people! SailorZelda is still tied up, and you BETTER keep those reviews coming! 

Signing off! April* 

as SailorZelda~ 


	9. The Sacred Realm

**YAY! Reviews are fun! I'm happy! Oh, I forgot to mention. April's evil plot has failed, although I got her ransom anyway! ^.^ I have put her in a place where she cannot escape from unless... 

April: UNLESS YOU PULL THE CORK OFF THIS BOTTLE, YOU DAMN, STUPID PERSON!! 

SailorZelda: Oh, can't you think of a better insult than that!? Moron. 

Anyways........Yay! People liked my last chapter. I'm happy, I liked it, too! 

This note is for Gon: Hey, you know I was messing around with Ruto. I seriously have nothing against her, the only thing I made (or tried to make ^~^) annoying on her was dancing. I promise when she appears in the future of my story (which she will), I will be nicer to her! Gomen! 

Enough babble! Let's see a chapter! 

*** 

April's hair, dress, and skin were soaking wet, a fact which she hadn't fully realized until this moment. When she and Impa had entered the stable of Lon Lon Ranch, April sighed and started to breath rapidly. The events of the night had started to catch up with her. 

"Well....." she began, quite out of breath, "....at least......we're...safe for now." She sighed, again. 

"For now," Impa said, a little bit more calm than April had been. "You thought pretty quickly back there. And another thing, how did you know we needed to go to the library?" 

"Um," April thought. In all her frantic thinking, she reasoned that it wouldn't hurt to tell her about the old lady in the library. The only thing she was worried about was telling her that she wasn't actually Zelda; that for all she knew, the real Zelda could be playing N64, HER N64...trying to win one player mode on Super Smash Bros. Not likely, she thought, but the fact remains that I am not the same person I was a week and a half ago. 

She decided that she would tell her only the story of the library and the lady she'd meet there. "Well, you know the day that Malon was at the castle?" she asked. Impa nodded. "Hm, before she came into the castle, that morning, I went into the library. When I was there, I found a book, it was called..." She faltered. 'Should I tell her the real title? she wondered. It would be pretty weird. She knew she wanted to look at the book herself before she showed it to anyone else. 

".....The Legend," April finished evasively. "Anyway, I pulled it out because....I dunno, because it looked cool." 

"Cool?" Impa asked with one eyebrow raised. 

April mentally kicked herself, and said, _._ "Interesting. When I pulled it out, I heard this sound, and found out that it had opened up this wall. It opened more after I touched it. I heard this person behind me, and I turned around. It was this little old lady. She had silvery hair up in a bun, she was kinda short, she also had......" She was going to say an Irish accent, but decided quickly against it. "...odd shaped eyes." True enough, she thought. "And a different sort of accent." 

It was here that April noticed something like recognition somewhere in the expression Impa wore. 

"Anyway, she told me that I shouldn't go in the tunnel that the open wall created until the 'time was right'. I didn't know what she meant at that point. But, I figured it had something to do with my visions and Ganondorf, so I left it alone." 

April paused and thought about it. It was becoming easier over these couple of days, for some reason, to talk with the seemingly intimidating Sheikah woman. She felt that, although a warrior and future Sage, as well as a protector of the Royal Family, somewhere under that mask she was a maternal sort of figure for the Zelda she knew. 

She had come to find that the queen she had come to know was not "her" real mother. Zelda's mother had died during childbirth, but the king had apparently remarried a couple years later. Although it seemed to April that the queen tried her best to be a mother for the Princess, Impa had always been closer to her. 

April added as an afterthought, "When I asked her who she was, she said I would find out soon. That everything would reveal itself. I looked at the corridor, but when I turned around again, she was gone. It's like she just disappeared." 

"Monoka," Impa said in a whisper. 

"What?" April asked. 

Impa looked right at April. "The woman you met; her name is Monoka." 

"Who is she?" April asked. It seemed obvious that Impa knew her from somewhere. 

"She and I are two of the few remaining Sheikahs in the land of Hyrule." 

"I thought you were the only one left. Well, except for..." April immediately shut her mouth. She was going to say except for Sheik, the odd character from The Ocarina of Time that kept popping up before every temple to help Link. 

"Except for who?" Impa asked, curious. 

'Ah, crap,' April thought. "Um, never mind. So, anyway, what's so special about Mona.....whatever?" 

"The Sheikahs have a legend that tells of a Princess of Destiny, who, along with the Hero of Time and the Six Wise Ones, will seal the Dark Creature in the Realm of the Goddesses." 

April's expression of confusion would have fit perfectly on an anime TV show. "Huh? What does that have to do with her, or me? I don't get even get that legend!" 

(A/N: She's being dense because of the night's events. April: HEY!) 

"Let me tell you the whole legend. Maybe you'll be able to make some connections." Impa began, 

"The Legend tells of a child who would be destined to save this land, 

Before it falls to destruction under the Dark Creature's hand, 

A dream shared by two who would the Six unite, 

A dream that would foresee and begin their timeless fight, 

The Realm of the Goddesses does hold the Sacred Treasure, 

Which would bring the end but for the heart that it would measure, 

Dark clouds would obtain only one part of the Three, 

And what was left would then be hidden by more than what you see, 

The Hero held by Time, and the Princess by disguise, 

Must succeed in the quest or it will bring the world's demise, 

There are those that would help them both to find the right way, 

Although the Princess will be the only one the hear what the Shadow would say, 

A warrior of mystery arises and through the Creature's cry, 

Would assist the child to overcome the Time that passes by, 

In the end a great deal will rely on Destiny and Fate, 

But if the two succeed, the world shall be spared from the Dark Realm's gate, 

The journey will be filled with all the world's fear and doubt, 

Though the two will conquer Time before their time is out." 

She paused to catch her breath, and to look at the princess. Zelda, who had obviously been listening, was now searching through a green book that Impa did not recognize. 

As soon as April had heard the words, "The Legend," at the beginning of the poem, she had retrieved the book from the floor and opened it. On the first page, like most books, it had the title written, but oddly no author. April looked on the first page of the book and found the exact poem which Impa had recited for her. She turned the book to show Impa. 

"Look familiar?" she asked. 

Impa took the book from her. "This is the book that you said opened the wall up, right?" 

"Yeah. I hadn't looked in it until now. I don't know what's in the rest of it," she said as she took the book back, subconsciously hiding the title. 

"Anyway, I think it's starting now," Impa said, 

"What is?" April asked. 

"The Legend. I think it's starting to become reality. That's why I didn't disbelieve the dreams you had been having were prophecy. The clouds and the boy from your dream reminded my a lot of this legend. So, I'd told Monoka about it." 

"Who is she, anyway?" April asked, genuinely curious. 

"She is a descendant of those who foretold this legend originally, one of the elders of our race. She has held this legend close since she was a little girl." 

"Hm," April thought. "Is she a prophet or something?" After saying this, April wondered where it had come from. 

Impa regarded the princess. "Her intuition and feelings on these matters surpass even yours, Zelda. Since you were born, she had felt that The Legend was not far away from coming true." 

"So that's why she knew all that stuff," April thought out loud. "Will we be seeing her again?" 

"I'm sure of it," Impa said. "I have a feeling that she knows how to hide you from Ganondorf, for however long we will need to." 

"Oh," April said, at a loss. Things were starting to get serious. 

"I think you should go to bed. We'll be useless until we can think properly," Impa said. 

"Okay," she said as she sunk down to the floor. She had been tired the whole time tonight, but as she sat down on the floor, she felt like a brick falling down a hill. She was asleep seconds after her head touched the floor. 

*** 

After a moment, April became aware of the darkness that was consuming her subconscious. Everything was pure black. She tried to wave her hand in front of her face, but then realized that she didn't _have_ a hand to wave in this form. She was just kind of..._there_. 

*How weird,* she thought. She could hear her voice echoing eerily throughout the blackness when she thought. *Even weirder,* she said as she heard her thoughts again echo and disappear into the seemingly endless black. 

Then suddenly, she wasn't in blackness. She noticed 'herself' drifting down from somewhere , and then she saw the interior of some ornately decorated building that was strangely familiar. She looked down and saw a black and white checkered pattern tile floor, and walls of some mirror like off white stone. Further inspection revealed an alter of some kind, and a stone door with an emblem that resembled the sun. 

*The Temple of Time!* she realized. She saw that the alter lacked three certain stones, and the door was not open. So, this picture she was seeing was before the Spiritual Stones had been put there by Link. She wondered what she would be dreaming this for. 

She suddenly realized that she wasn't _dreaming_ it, she was _seeing_ it. This was what was happening right now, in the present. 

Her attention diverted to the door to the Temple as she heard footsteps approaching from behind her. She turned to the doorway of the Temple, and she saw a boy in green emerge from the dark entrance. 

*Link. Hey, Link!* she attempted to call out, but then realized that she most likely couldn't. She wasn't even really there, so she quit. 

But what surprised her was when he stopped short and looked up at the ceiling, not far from where she was. 

*Wha!?* April heard what would have been the equivalent to a startled squeak come from her. So, maybe she _was_ there, after all. *In some form, anyway,* she thought, somewhat shocked. 

She finally realized that Link was frantically looking around the Temple for the source of this random voice. 

*Damn it!* she thought. *What's going on!?* She then tried to stop thinking 'out loud'. 

Link, still looking around, said, "Zelda?" 

*Um,* she thought. *Yeah. How'd you know?* 

"Let's see. There's this ominous voice talking coming from who knows where, and she sounds like you, and she's cursing for no apparent reason.....yeah. It's you. But, where...?" he asked. 

*To be honest,* she thought. *...I haven't a clue. I'm asleep!* 

"Okaaay." 

*That's what I thought. I don't get it! So, but......maybe I'm NOT dreaming! What just happened?* 

"I don't know. You and Impa rode off, and Ganondorf followed you..." 

*We're safe, though,* she thought. 

"Where are you guys?" 

*Uh...Well, I don't think I can say. Even the walls have ears.* 

"Oh." 

*Hey, why'd you come in here?* 

"I got the Ocarina from the moat, and I remembered that legend you told me. So, I thought it seemed like the best place to go. You want to protect the Triforce, right?" 

She winced, because that really wouldn't be what happened. *Hm. I guess, you should open the Door...* 

"The Door.....?" 

If April could have rolled her eyes, she would have. "The stone door directly in front of you. Go over to that alter thingy." 

He did so, and as he approached it, the three Spiritual Stones suddenly appeared right over the hollow spaces in the alter. They hovered with a great show of flashing lights of the respective colors before they finally settled down into the three spaces. 

"Whoa," Link marveled. 

*Ditto.* April stared at the scene. 

"What now?" 

*Play the Song of Time.* 

"And that goes...how?" 

*Crap! Um, I can't really......* Before April finished, she found herself standing on the floor of the Temple right behind Link. She looked down and found that she inhabited ghostly copy of Zelda's body. She looked at Link with a confused expression. 

"Huh?" 

"Um, no clue, not a clue," she answered, finding that she could talk. "Where's the Ocarina?" 

"Here," he said, showing it to her. 

"Gimme," she said as she grabbed it from him. She was hoping that she would be able to hold the thing without it dropping to the floor, and was glad when she found she could. "How weird," she said, as she saw her transparent hand holding the small blue instrument. 

"Well?" Link asked her. 

"Oh, sorry," she said. 

'Hm,' she thought as she put it up to her mouth. 'I wonder how you...?' But before she could finish, she found herself fingering the holes on the small Ocarina in a fluid motion, as if she had done it all her life. Strange, considering that she'd never seen, let alone played, this instrument before in her life. 

*_Your_ life,* she heard a voice say in her mind. She glanced around only for a second, finding the voice familiar, but choosing to ignore it. 

April, only stopping a moment to hesitate, began to play the Song of Time. The simple seventeen note song rang clear and true through the Temple, echoing for a moment after the last note was played. 

Another moment, and April opened her eyes and looked up to find the stone door behind the alter opening, groaning with great drama. She smiled to herself. 

Before she could say or do anything, she found herself looking down at the whole scene from somewhere above, again. 

*GAH! HOW ANNOYING!!!* she thought, intending to voice her opinion. 

"Where'd you go?" Link asked. 

*No clue in all of hell!* April said, more than irritated. 

Link laughed to himself as she picked up the Ocarina where it had, luckily, safely dropped onto the floor. 

"So, I guess I go in there, huh?" Link asked her. 

*Yeah. Um, I guess, this might be good-bye,* she thought. 

"Yes." 

April collected herself before thinking, *Well, go then, Hero! Face your destiny!* 

He smiled before entering the dark hallway that stood where the door had been moments ago. 

April watched until she couldn't see him anymore. She knew what would happen next. He would pull the Master Sword from the pedestal, and then Ganondorf would...... 

*Ganondorf!* April had completely forgot about him during this whole time. *Where is he? I didn't blindly give away any information, did I!?* she thought frantically. 

No, no she didn't. She realized that everything was still okay with that situation. Well, sure. It wasn't okay that Ganonjerk was going to get the Triforce, but that was something different. She just didn't want him to have any more information that would give him an advantage over them. The only information she had revealed was that she was safe. But, he knew that already, didn't he? 

April suddenly noticed her vision of the Temple blurring as she found herself floating in another surrounding. She saw what seemed to be sunset colored clouds as far as she could see. Then, she saw several red, green, and blue beams. She then saw, not yards in front of her, the Triforce. The legendary triangle that April knew all too well the horrors it would bring Hyrule. She reeled backwards, if spirits can, when she felt its immense force. It was overwhelming. 

April suddenly felt a different force, not far from her. Her eyes darted around, searching for its origin. Then she saw him. Ganondorf approached the Triforce, floating as she was. She was not one to stand going unnoticed in a situation like this, and if there was any way she was going to keep him from getting the triangle, she would find it now. 

So, she did the first thing that came to her mind. She called out to him. *Hey, moron!* She noticed she still voiced her words in thought. 

Ganondorf turned around and saw her. So, apparently, she did have a form to those who saw her. His expression laughed at her. *What are you going to do, little princess?* he asked, in her mind. 

*I-I-I.....* She was at a loss. She had no clue what she was going to do. In fact, she didn't even know what she was doing here. 

She suddenly felt something. Deep down in the depths of her spirit, a power that bubbled up filling her like nothing she had felt before. She felt wisdom of the ages, and knowledge that she didn't even know existed. Her surprised expression went unnoticed by Ganondorf, as he turned away to claim his prize. 

*I'm going to take it from you,* she found herself saying. 

*What!?* he asked, turning back to face the grim-faced princess. 

*I said,* she thought slowly and deliberately. *I'm going to take it from you.* She regarded him coolly, all the time wondering where all this energy she felt was coming from, and also what the heck she was doing. 

*How do you plan to do that?* he asked, smirking at her. 

April felt herself saying the things that followed, knowing she was saying them willingly, but wondering where all the speech had come from. She only partly knew what was going on. 

*In the name of the Goddess Nayru,* she heard herself 'say'. *....I promise you, Ganon, that you will _not_ win this.* In the face of Ganondorf's surprised expression, she held up her right hand, forming a fist. She felt the energy inside her continue to rise. 

Ganondorf hurriedly had turned back to the Triforce, and reached out to touch it. 

Mere seconds before his hand made contact with the three triangles, April felt something hot on the back of her fist. Just as he made contact with the Triforce, April yelled in determination as she felt energy blaze from in front of her. She continued to yell as she saw a blue ray shoot towards her, a triangle pattern in the end moving toward her. It hit her as she felt a white hot triangle connect with her fist, and then a blue light engulfed her. 

*** 

April awoke with a start an sat right up as she felt an intense pain shoot through her head. She screamed in pain and surprise as she grabbed her head and fell forward on her knees. The white hot feeling on the back of her right hand went almost unnoticed. 

Impa woke up beside Zelda and quickly held the girl in her arms. 

"What is it, Zelda, what's wrong!?" she asked hurriedly, right before the princess cried out shortly, and fell back into the unconscious. 

A certain ranch girl tumbled out of bed and fell in a rather ungraceful heap on the floor when she heard someone scream in what sounded like pain. She sat up and gripped the edge of her bed as she pulled herself up, again. She heard another cry, fairly quieter. She noticed that it was coming from the stables. 

"What in the name of all Din's earth...?" she muttered as she grabbed her boots and literally fell out the door, still in her nightgown. She fumbled down the stairs, pulling on the boots, and shot out the front door. She reached the door to the stable and yanked it open. 

Impa sat on the floor, Zelda still unconscious in her arms. She had no idea what was going on. At that moment, the door to the stables flew open, revealing the slightly less dramatic storm still going on, and also the shadow of a girl. 

Malon immediately stopped as she saw Zelda, seemingly asleep, in the arms of who Malon identified as Zelda's Sheikah guardian. 

"Wha' the...? You two, what are you doin' here? Wait, not important! C'm inside!" she said as she rushed over to them and helped Impa take the fitfully sleeping Zelda inside Malon's house. 

*** 

April: WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!??? 

SailorZelda: CALM DOWN!!! It's okay! 

April: YOU can say that, you're not unconscious for who knows WHAT reason! 

SailorZelda: :: filing her nails :: If you remember, readers, she never saw the scene where Link meets Zelda again, so she doesn't know that the Triforce split up and she has the Triforce of Wisdom. 

April: I have WHAT, now!??!?!? 

SailorZelda: *casually* Opps. :: uses that memory eraser thing :: 

Ha, ha. Anyway, that was my messed up version of what happened to Zelda after she escaped, and how the Sacred Realm got opened, what happened to Zelda when she got the Triforce. Yeah. Just so you know, I will explain the whole bit with her being in the Sacred Realm in upcoming chapters, but remember the she DIDN'T get the Triforce because she was there, she only subconsciously helped to direct what happened to the other two pieces. 

:: Everyone is oblivious :: Don't worry, I'll explain! 

So, bye for now, I hope you will come back when I put up a new chapter, which will be soon! REVIEW!!!!! 

Chowness! 

SailorZelda~ 


	10. Clouds

**ME IS BAAAAAACK! MUAAAHAHAHA! As if, it really hasn't been THAT long since I posted. Yeah. But, anyway, it's fun to post chapters on all my stories. 

I've just recently thought of some really good ideas for the upcoming chapters. I'm really trying to put in all the humor and romance-ish stuff I can, but I find I have to put other stuff first, sometimes, when I explain things. But, you'll still enjoy it. One of the upcoming chapters that I've started to write is one of the most (I think) kinda emotional-ish things I've ever written. I dunno if you'll think so, but...Oh, well! Yeah. So, I guess here is the chapter. 

*** 

_Sacred Realm.......Triforce....Goddesses.........Blue........Wisdom....Ganon........_

__All of these seemingly random thoughts flew in and out of the still unconscious April's mind. Unknowing, she had been put in a bed in one of the upstairs rooms in Malon's house. Attempts to wake her up were unsuccessful, much to the disappointment of everyone present. No one knew what had happened except the Princess, and even she was clouded in this matter. 

When April slowly and tiredly opened her eyes, she first noticed soft morning sunlight creeping shyly through a window. She moved her arms and legs around, and felt soft blankets surrounding her. Being too tired to sit up very fast, she forced herself to sit up and search her surroundings. 

The first thing she noticed was that the floor, ceiling, and walls around her were wood. Not stone. 

"Oh, yippie-skippie," she said, somewhat disappointed that the events of last night had most definitely not been a dream. When she thought of that, it seemed funny. "A dream within a dream. Well, not quite, but...yeah," she said. 

She was not going to even try to make sense of what had happened last night. She knew she could do that when she didn't feel as if she was going to fall back into dreamland any second. And she would have someone help her. At the moment, it hurt her brain more than an algebra test first period. 

The more she looked at the room, the more she realized it must have been a girl's room. Malon's room, most likely. Not that it mattered much, there was nobody there that she could see. 

April somewhat reluctantly sat up all the way and put her feet on the cold, polished wood floor. She noticed that she was not wearing the same clothes she had had on the night before. Had she not been half asleep, she might have wondered who had put the nightdress on her and been embarrassed about it. 

She made her way over to the door and opened it slowly. She noticed that the door was one of a few off a hallway that ended in a flight of stairs. Seeing no other real options, she walked over to the stairs and half felt her way down them. 

The first thing she saw when she saw when she reached the bottom floor was two feminine figures seated in the room. They were by the fireplace, and their backs were to her. But she immediately recognized one of them as Impa. The other, a fiery redhead, could only be a certain ranch girl. 

She also noticed that they seemed to be sitting waiting for something, almost anxiously. 

April blinked tiredly and pulled her hair back behind her ears. "What's everyone all sitting around for?" she asked. 

Malon jumped up right away and spun around when she heard the princess's voice. Before April could react, Malon had run over to her and almost lifted her up off the floor when she hugged her. 

"We were waitin' for you to get up, silly! What happen'd last night!? Why'd you go unconscious!? WHAT HAPPENED!? Tell me!" Malon shouted at her over her shoulder. She suddenly pushed April about an arms distance away, still holding on to her, and said, "You scared me half to death! Don't _ever_ do anythin' like that again!" 

April, for lack of anything to say at the barrage of statements, stared surprised for a moment. It was then that Impa stood up and spoke. "What she means to say is that we're glad you're awake," the woman said with some amusement. 

"That, too!" Malon added as she let go of April and smiled. 

April tried to think of a response of some kind. But, for lack of anything better to say, she said the first thing that came to her mind that didn't involve last night. "I'm hungry." 

*** 

April and Malon sat on the roof of the stable at the ranch later that day. Some time after they had eaten lunch and April had had a chance to wake up more, Malon had asked April if she wanted to see something. April agreed to go, but first she asked Impa how much longer they could stay there before they had to leave for somewhere safer. If there was even such a place. 

"Don't worry," Impa had said. "It's not time to worry yet." 

So, April had gone with Malon outside. When they left the house, April asked what Malon had wanted to show her as the other girl began to climb up to the roof of the stable. 

"The clouds," Malon had said, not bothering to turn around. 

April let her head fall to the side. "Can't you see them just as easily from the ground?" 

This time Malon did turn around. "Where's th' fun in that?" she had asked. 

April blinked, then shrugged and followed her. 

What she did notice that, although this roof wasn't as high as the one at Hyrule Castle and would prevent you from seeing the full sunset, they could see for what seemed like miles around. The ranch seemed to be right smack in the middle of Hyrule field, which also added to what they could see. 

It was also windy today, and being up on the roof, April felt as if she was going to fall over at any moment. But she soon found help in Malon to steady herself. 

April saw that, if she laid totally on her back, the sky looked like a bowl covering everything. Like she was an ant underneath a blue bowl with marshmallows in it that just wouldn't fall, no matter how much they moved towards the west. The marshmallows being the clouds. 

"You know, I don't think I've every taken the time to just look at the sky before," April said. 

"Ya should. Don't take the world f'r granted," Malon said. "And by that way, there's a lotta things it seems you've never taken the time to do. For 'xample, tellin' me why you knew about me 'n my dad being at Hyrule Castle and I should have been gone. Like, tellin' me why you.....um, jumped outta your window." Malon shrugged. 

"Hm," April grumbled indignantly as she sat up. "Well, you never told me why you were still at the castle. So, MAYBE if you tell me, the I'll tell you something..." 

Malon smirked. "Okay, Princess." 

"Don't call me that, please." 

"And, why ever not?" Malon asked in a kind of overly sarcastic sweetness. 

"Because, you talk first." 

"Okay. Well, that day, I s'ppose...However you knew 'bout me and m' dad, I guess you knew that he fell asleep and I was looking for h'm. Well, as I was walking around the caslte town lookin' for him, this kid who looked like he had no idea where he was goin' asked me if I knew where the castle was. I think he was that kid you were talkin' 'bout when we were at the castle." 

"Link," April said. 

Malon looked at her and smiled slightly. Just when she was going to continue, April said, "You called him something different, didn't you?" 

Malon glanced at her again. April merely smiled. "How'd ya know all this stuff?" Malon asked. 

"I have my ways," April said. Malon continued, as she was hoping for an explanation........"later", as the Princess would say. 

"So, anyway, I told h'm where it was. After a while, I started to get bored. 't was still fairly early in the morning, and I knew my dad must've fallen asleep by the castle. Again. So, I went towards the road which leads to the castle. 

"Ya see, they know who I am and will usually let me in at the gate. When 'm with my dad. So, I was kinda stuck. I went back towards the beginnin' of the road, hopin' my idiot father would wake up and find me there. I glanced back over at the castle, wonderin' if that kid had had the same problem gettin' in that I was havin'. 

"Just then, I could have _sworn_ I saw somethin' off in the distance towards the castle. It was green. And I could have sworn 't was a kid." Malon smiled. 

"So, I guess my curios'ty got the better of me that time. He must'a found some way past all the guards, that is if they weren't the ones who let h'm in. Which, for some reason, I doubted. So, t' find a way in, and also to pass time, I tried to look for some way in. I don't know if you've really taken the time to look what it's like on the outside lookin' in, but it looked impossible. 

"What I saw was that there were cliffs, some trees, and a whole mess of guards. Didn't really see how I could get past it all. But, after some observation, I realized that there were several vines growing on the cliffs." 

"Don't tell me you...." April started. 

"Yep. I tried to climb 'em. After several.....okay, well. A LOT of unsuccessful attempts, I managed to scale a wall. 

"When I did, I thought, "Now what?" I didn't really see how I could get past any of the guards on the grounds. They weren't blind. But, to my more that fortunate fortune, I noticed that, by the cliff face I was on, there were trees.....all in a row at the edges of the ground. I s'pposed it was s'pposed to look nice." 

"But it must also be useful for getting into the castle with," April concluded. 

"Bingo. Anyway, after I managed to work my way to the last tree, I realized there was a fence leadin' right into the area right outside the castle, and it was right under the tree. I kinda jumped down onto it, and made my way over to a bunch 'a what could be nothin' other than Lon Lon milk crates. 

"My dad was of course gone by then. I hadn't fully realized it, but the sun was already gone on the horizon, with only a little bit of light left. 

"You see, I'm usually down 'n up with the sun. I was tired from so much sneaking 'round, so I sat down to rest by the crates, to wait for........I actually don't know what I thought I was waitin' for. But, the next thing I knew, I was awake, and it must've been midmorning. 

"I saw something when I looked up at a window, saw something on the balc'ny, and the rest is history." Malon shrugged again. "Your turn." 

April sighed. She wanted to ask Malon what she was about to ask, but it seemed strange. 

"Malon?" 

"Hm?" the girl answered. 

"Well, you didn't...tell anybody about when I jumped off the balcony, did you? Or about...when I...." This was really hard for her. "When..I......" 

Malon understood. "Nope," she said simply. 

April looked at her almost incredibly. "Why?" she finally asked. 

Malon seemed almost surprised. "Well, I didn't....don't really have any reason to. I mean, what you do is yours and the royal family's business. Maybe not even that. Your business. Think 'bout it." 

April regarded her. Malon continued, "When I think about it, I probably wasn't, shouldn't have even known. But ya know what? I'm glad I did. I don't know how much sense you have, but I imagine being the princess that you have some. Whatever it is that'd make you lose it all....well. That's really none of my business, at all" 

Malon got up, seemingly forgot about her plan to get answers out of the princess. She made as if to leave, but April stopped her by grabbing her sleeve. "I've gotta tell someone, I'll to crazy. You're not gonna believe me, but what can I do?" 

Malon stopped and looked at the girl, understanding the newfound urgency and drama in her voice. She was no longer the Princess of Hyrule just then, she was a girl who needed someone to listen to her. 

And April confirmed this by saying, "I'm not really the princess." 

"What d'you mean? Well, sure ya are! Listen, I've heard that your parents were killed, and I'm really sorry, but..." 

"No, Malon hear me out," April said. "I mean, I'm not really Zelda. Princess Zelda, that's not me." 

Malon stared, but decided to listen. 

April sighed. "I come from a, I guess you could say different dimension. There, it would be like the future to here. My name's really April, and I'm a thirteen year old from Oregon." 

"Never heard 'a that," Malon said. 

"You wouldn't have. But you see, there, this world, Hyrule, it's a game." 

"A game?" Malon repeated, almost laughing. 

"Yeah. Hyrule is a world created by the company called Nintendo. Which by the way, is what I call the best company on the face of the planet. They made a game called 'The Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time." It's a video game, you play it with a little controller on the TV.......Oh, it's really hard to explain to you. But, anyway, the story line of the game is almost exactly what is happening now. You know Ganondorf I showed you the other day? Well, he's the bad guy in the game. And I knew about you and your dad because you were in the game. 

"But the point of the matter is, I was playing that game one night. In the morning, when I woke up, I WAS Zelda, the Princess of Hyrule. I had inhabited her body. I thought it was a dream, all the way up until I woke up that midnight. I met Link, and I knew what to do because of the game. 

"At home, on the game I hadn't finished it, yet. You don't know this, but Link, in seven years, is going to become the Hero of Time." April paused. 

Malon gaped. "The...the.....THE Hero....?" 

"Yeah." 

"Whoa," 

"Anyway," April continued. "The whole game is played with you playing as him. It's a role playing game. So, you see, you know what happens to Zelda, up to a certain point. But, I only ever played to where I knew what happened to her up until she escapes from the castle. I won't see Link for more than seven years, because the Sacred Realm's got him locked up until his body ages to become seventeen. 

"And, I don't know what happened to Zelda." At this point, a shaking became apparent in her voice. "I don't know what to do. Malon," She stopped to try to compose herself. Her attempt failed as tears built up in her eyes. "I don't know what to do! I'm so scared..." 

Malon considered the scene that was playing out before her. She knew the girl had no reason to lie to her. She had nothing to hide, there wasn't any reason. And, this was real emotion that she was pouring out. To _her_, no less. 

"Why?" was the first thing Malon said. 

April tried to stop and look at Malon as she wiped her eyes. "Huh?" she asked, shakily. 

"Why tell me? Why not that woman, Impa?" 

April thought for a second, which was hard at the moment. "Because you didn't tell anyone about my other secrets. Because you're a girl, just like me. Because," April stood up. "...maybe you're the only person I _can_ trust in this alien place." 

Malon regarded the girl who was recovering quickly. "I would tell ya not to worry," Malon said. "But I know I can't. The fact in this matter is," She also stood up. "...that you don't have to worry alone. You can count on one thing, I know for certain." Malon sought the other girl's hand and took it in her own. "You c'n count on my friendship. I believe you in this, I don't have a reason not to. I can tell you that you can count on my help whenever I can give it." 

Malon quickly let go and turned around. She jumped gracefully off the roof and landed on her feet. She called up to April. 

"Well, c'mon! We've got stuff to do 'fore we gotta help with dinner!" With that, she disappeared into the stable atop which April still stood. 

April looked down at the spot where Malon had just been. Something she never expected here, she'd made a friend who'd promised to help her, even though they were both clue less in all the matters at hand. 

April smiled and jumped down after the now not-so-bubbly redhead she'd thought she'd known. 

*** 

**Hm. I thought I was going to put the next part in this chapter, but I REALLY wanted to put this up earlier. The next part is long enough to put in one chapter, anyway. 

Well, I liked this chapter. I like Malon! She's so cute! Okay, maybe she's a little weird, like me!, but she's okay. When she's talking, you know I spelt those words like that on purpose so you'd remember that she kind of has a Southern-ish accent. Like a Southern Bell without the huge dress! HA! 

So, I hope you liked this chapter. You know now that Malon won't be just some person, she has an important part. Emotional support for April! 

April: I DON'T NEED THAT!!!!! 

SailorZelda: SURE you don't. 

Anyway........please review. I like reviews. I LIKE THEM I SAY!!!! Yeah. Oh, I forget who it was who asked how old April is, but I put it in this chapter to remind you! (She's 13) 

So, again, REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!! People, I says, PLEASE REVIEW THIS STORY!!!!! 

So, bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye!! 

SailorZelda~ 


	11. Reflection

**Me be doing another chapter! YAHOO! Ya know, it took kinda a long time to put up the last chapter because my DUMB MONKEY computer wouldn't let me save the document as HTML, and it MADE ME MAD!! GRRRRRR! But, yeah. 

April: *out of the blue* You're mean. 

SailorZelda: Why, so I am! 

April: Especially to me! 

SailorZelda: OH, WELL!!!!!! Get over it! Besides, this story's, like, not even half way done! 

April: NANI!? 

SailorZelda: Maybe ^-^ 

April: -_-()*sigh* 

Sooooooooooo, yeah. Please review. Oh, and just because I feel like it......The Legend of Zelda music rules! Yeah, because I just got the sheet music books and I printed some off the internet...from the first game and also Gerudo Valley. Oh, does ANYBODY know where I can get the music to Koume and Kotake's Theme? Just curious! ^-^ So, here is my chapter! 

*** 

*Zelda...?* 

A distant and warped voice called to April through the thin line of dream reality. She heard it, but not really. Not when her attention was fully on what lay ahead of her. She saw endless possibilities of what could be and what is, and what had been before. She saw her family and friends, she saw her school and things she had done on Earth. Then she saw herself as Zelda, doing the things she remembered from the last one and a half weeks. And she saw before that, to a childhood lived by the real Princess. 

She saw her outburst of only a couple hours ago and a redheaded girl giggling whenever she mentioned the future Hero of Time. 

And then she saw what could happen from here. Almost anything was possible when it hadn't happened. But one thing April saw was for certain. She wasn't going back. Back to Earth, at least for a long time. 

Then a part of her dream broke through to show her what had happened in the Sacred Realm. She hadn't forgotten completely that she had been there, and it had been lingering on the edge of her mind for a while, now. But when it played out before her for a second time, she realized what she had subconsciously been doing while she was there. 

She'd realized it when she was doing it, but not fully. It was like something, or someone, was helping her to realize what she should have been doing. She couldn't tell exactly what it was by watching, but she could tell that it had a lot to do with the Triforce, Ganon, Link, and herself. 

April had known that there were three parts that had made up the Triforce. Wisdom, Courage, and Power. Hence, the name TRIforce. The thing April didn't know, but now understood, was that Ganon hadn't gotten them all. She remembered a feeling on her hand, like a burning feeling. Maybe she had helped move the Triforce, or at least part of it, away from the Sacred Realm and the reach of Ganon. 

She decided now, like she had before, to find somebody to help her make sense of all this. She knew she would have to confide in Impa one of these days with all the problems at hand. She didn't know if she would be as trusting as Malon had been of her. After all, a child's perception of the world is so much more innocent than any given adults. But she wouldn't be able to hide the truth for long. 

April hadn't noticed that the scene in the Sacred Realm had faded into an inky darkness. But it didn't stay that way for long. She saw blue first, a blue light. And then some indefinite background. It would be gold, then blue, then look like a blue sky with gold clouds. It kept changing, but not matter what, it always had gold and blue. She noticed, then, a golden triangle in the middle of everything. 

It looked a lot like the Triforce she had seen in the Sacred Realm. For all she knew, this could be part of the Sacred Realm. But the triangle was only one part. She saw something at the center of it. 

A woman with blue hair and dressed all in blue materialized right in front of the Triforce. She was unrealistically beautiful. It seemed that she had a glow around her, also. 

*Oh, my God,* April thought. 

The woman looked directly at her, and did what only one other person had ever been able to do, penetrate her thoughts. 

*Close enough. Goddess,* the goddess 'said', and smiled. 

Life has those moments that you wish you would have realized something before you got to them. This was one of those moments for April. Standing before her was, April thought without a shadow of a doubt, the Goddess Nayru. What she wished she would have realized was that she would see some bizarre and amazing things during her life. 

*This is extremely scary because I don't even need to ask who you are, I know already,* April realized. 

*What's extremely scary is the fact that you now are the bearer of one of the most powerful things in the universe,* Nayru said. 

April blinked. *What?* 

The Goddess smiled. *The Triforce of Wisdom. By now, you obviously have realized that this cannot possibly be a game, am I correct?* 

*Yes,* April conceded. 

*Good. Then you also know that the destiny of our world relies a great deal upon you.* 

*Yeah. And...?* 

*The Three Forces of the Triangle and where they end up will, and already have started to, rely upon you.* 

April didn't fully understand, but she had a hunch as to what the Goddess was talking about. 

Seeing that, she decided to continue. *When you were in the Sacred Realm, did you not hear the voice inside your head? The small yet incomprehensibly important voice?* 

*Yeah, I guess. But what......?* 

Nayru cut in. *Well, part of that was me, and part of it was Destiny. A force in the universe that exists as it has above all other life, including me and my sisters. A lesser known fact about me is that besides being the Goddess of Wisdom, I am also the Goddess through whom Destiny speaks. And in this, I know much of what will happen before it ever does. The possibilities, that is. 

*But more to the point, Destiny has revealed to me who She has chosen to hold the Triforce; The Princess of Destiny, the Hero of Time, and the Dark Creature.* 

*Lemme guess,* April put in. *Me, Link, and Ganonjerk?* 

The Goddess seemed to look almost proudly at the girl. *It seems this isn't going to be difficult for you to understand, only difficult to carry out.* She looked at the nonexistent ground. *Mortals and their emotions,* she muttered. 

April thought of something. *But, why did you call Destiny a She?* 

Nayru looked up, amused and seemingly cynical. *You did not expect the prevailing force of all existence to be male, did you?* 

*No, it seems that they're all morons.....* April said, only partly sarcastic. 

The Goddess laughed outright. *It was no wonder Wisdom chose you over all else.* 

*Hm. But, wait. I though you said Destiny chose me.* 

*You see, She cannot work alone. Her will is enough to make things happen, but not without the aid of those who will listen to her. When we created Hyrule and the 'Earth' upon which it rests, the Triforce was left as not only a reminder of us and the balance of the forces, but also to help find the ones who will aid Destiny when she is in need of it. 

*When Destiny chooses someone, for any purpose no matter now minuscule, the Triforce will reflect that. So, when the Gerudo King decided he wanted to overthrow Hyrule, do not you think Destiny would have something to say about it?* 

*Heck, yeah!* April exclaimed, holding up her fist. 

*So, the Triforce, in itself, realized this and set up a defense for when what was inevitable was going to happen. And do you know what it was waiting for to set off the defense?* 

*Um, me?* April realized slowly. 

*Exactly. So, when Ganondorf touched the Triforce, the wills of Destiny, the Triforce, and yourself were reflected in its essence. In short, he was unable to obtain the entire thing.* 

*My will...* April mused. 

*And Destiny's, yes.* 

*You know, I hate him with a passion,* April said. 

*And do you even know why?* Nayru asked her. 

April shook her head. 

*As you most likely know, I know about the Earth from which you come from, and the so called 'game' which was based on our reality. I know it must have something to do with that, and your inability to finish the 'game'. But I also know that, when you entered the Sacred Realm with him, Destiny reflected in you, also. And, in this, you realized, through many forces including Her, your own inner strength, and me, that you had to do all in your power to get the Triforce away from the evil.* 

*I knew part of that, already. But, when it was happening, I didn't really know what was going on.* 

*Well, now you do. And what you did was use set off the defense in the Triforce upon which a Sheikah legend is based; you split the forces into the Three from which they came.* 

*I..._I_ split it?* April asked. 

*With help, but essentially, yes. And Destiny's will engraved in the Triforce drew the force of Wisdom to you.* 

*Which means that I now have the Triforce of Wisdom...* April pondered. 

*So true it is, child. And I can tell you now that you need to listen to it should it tell you anything, which I know it will. Destiny's will is never quieted.* 

*Okay.* 

*And I can also tell you to listen to the People of Shadows, the Sheikah. They are some of the few who remember legends from the dawning age of our realm.* 

*But, I thought that there were only two of them in Hyrule left....?* 

*You shall see that all is not is as it appears,* Nayru said. 

After a short silence, April said, *So, I guess I'll be taking orders from a sacred object, a goddess, and the core of the universe. How fun for me!* April clapped in sarcasm. 

The Goddess smiled knowingly at her. *Remember that although it seems you are only a tool in Destiny's plan, you must also remember to listen to that inner strength that helped draw the force into your hand in the start. Your hand, literally,* Nayru said this last part with a slight glance at April's right hand. 

April glanced at it, too. She noticed a small triangle made up of three others, with the bottom right one glowing a soft gold, most likely reacting to its origin, Nayru. And most likely it was the cause of the hot feeling April had felt on the back of her hand in the realm. 

*Wow,* was all April could find to say. 

*I don't think I could have put it better and more bluntly, myself. And with these words, we must part.* 

*You know something?* April put in. *I'm not as scared as I was before now that I know, if only on my understanding as a thirteen year old, what's going on.* 

With one last look at April, Nayru closed her eyes and held her hands over her head. April saw her mouth something out right before a blue ball of light formed over her head. 

"You are about as scared as you should be." 

*** 

"Zelda!?" she heard it again, only this time is was real, not warped through wherever she had just been. And it sounded like it was right next to her. She realized that whatever had just happened must've only taken a second in reality, while it seemed to her like several minutes. 

She also realized that she eyes were halfway closed, and she opened them to see a slightly peeved yet amused red-haired girl right in front of her face. 

"Hey, Zel...you jus' totally zoned out right there!" she said as she turned back to the counted on which they were preparing dinner. She laughed suddenly and shortly and looked over her shoulder. "Daydreamin' again?" 

"And just what is THAT supposed to mean?" she asked as she purposely and playfully shoved Malon aside to reach some uncooked batter and a spoon. "And why do you have to keep calling me that?" 

"It _means_," Malon said as she pushed April. "...that you hafta knock it off! And second, I'm not gonna stop callin' you that." 

"Why?" April asked. 

"Because," Malon said simply. "Just 'cause I believe you doesn't mean I have to call you...erm..." 

"April," the girl said, almost annoyed. 

"Yeah. Hey, what kind of a name is that, anyway?" 

"It's a month, actually..." April said when she thought about it, putting her hand up to her face. 

Malon looked at her in a way that told her she had no idea what a month was. She wondered if they used a different calendar here. But, then she wondered if the used a calendar at all... 

"Never mind," April said. "But, why _Zel_?" 

"Never hurts to have a nickname." 

"Hm, no wonder then," April said to herself. "And I supposed you couldn't find a better one for Link?" 

Malon glanced at her through the corners of her eyes, but decided not to respond. 

*** 

The next morning, Malon had dragged a sleepy April out of bed and out of the house. The morning air was cold and it seemed to bite the end of April's nose and her ears. The odd thing that April had noticed about her ears was the she seemed to be able to hear better than she used to be able to. She wondered if it was the fact that they were pointed at the end, or if her ears at home were just messed up... 

"Malon?" April asked, suddenly. "Why exactly did you wake me up so early? And what are we doing? It's cold! And it's still kinda dark out here!" 

"Hm," Malon answered indignantly. "Are you finished?" 

"No!" April shouted. Quickly realizing how loud she sounded in the still morning, and that she really was finished, she stopped abruptly. 

Malon looked up and laughed. "No," she said, putting her hands behind her head. "I s'pposed your not." 

"You didn't answer a single one of my questions..." April pointed out. 

"I thought you of all people might appreciate somethin' like this. I realized, I don't really remember when it was that I realized it...but at a certain time, when th' moon's full and summer's just startin' to end...Somethin' happens to the sky between the moon and the ground. I dunno how it works, but durin' that time the moon is right over the Temple of Time. And right when the sun comes up...well, just watch." 

At that moment, the sun could be seen beginning to make its never ceasing journey across the sky. Malon cast her gaze to the northeast, and April followed suit. 

What she saw made her forget some of the trivial things that had been floating around in her head during the past just under two weeks. The spectacle looked a lot like the northern lights, but in three distinct colors; red, blue and green. April wondered if the moon had something to do with the Sacred Realm here. What she knew about the moon and mythology on Earth was that the moon often reflected serenity, truth, and the spirit, and it wouldn't surprise her to know that here, the moon was connected with the Realm, as they seemed to show similar characteristics. 

But aside from the actual sight of it, April was filled with a newfound love for this place called Hyrule. She had noticed it before, but this reminded her that the whole place reflected what she herself would want the perfect place to look like. She didn't know if that had anything to do with the Legend of Zelda being her favorite game, or if the place actually had that kind of affect on her in person. 

She knew that no matter how much she would grow attached to the place and the people here, she knew she would never be able to come to full terms with them, or love them as much as the real Princess would have. And that made her kind of sad. 

"I don't know why, but it reminds me that miracles happ'n all the time," Malon said, offhandedly. 

"How's that?" April said. 

The other girl glanced at her. "It reminds me 'bout all the things we take for granted every day. Like, friendship 'n love, a simple song played by one lover for another. It reminds me of when we blow things so trivial up into somethin' so big we forget what our original intention was. Of how the smallest thing can make a child laugh, or change your life, for better or worse. It reminds me of what everyone wants, but nob'dy can truly have. Of ambition, courage, and the ability to be able to put your life out for somebody else. Those things....Sometimes I think, when the Goddesses look down at us, they're laughin'." Malon stopped suddenly, seeming to find herself again. 

She smiled quickly. "Maybe I'm not the only one on Din's earth who's ever taken the time to realize it, but maybe I'm the only one in Hyrule crazy enough to wake up early enough to see this." She kept her hands behind her head. "Sometimes it seems like I'm talking nonsense." 

"No," April said, quietly. "Sometimes it seems like kids like you are the only ones who make any sense." She sighed. "The part about the Goddess laughing at us. I can relate to that. It seems that people and..." She thought better of it. "People are always finding some reason to laugh at me." 

"Maybe because it's the fact that they don't expect a Princess to act that way you do." Malon smiled. "I'm sure it's not only the way you look," she said tactically. 

April turned her head s l o w l y to Malon. "Que?" she said, using her extremely limited Spanish vocabulary. 

"Hehee," Malon giggled as she turned and ran back to the house, April following her not far behind. 

*** 

**How weird. It's late and I'm typing this and my brother is burping everything that I type and it's really starting to get annoying........but all of you don't care because you want to read my fanfiction, neh? Okay, so.....I hoped you liked this chapter. Lesse, does the part about April and the Triforce make sense, now? If it doesn't, tell me! I need people to know what's going on. Oh, and the part about the northern lights...thingamajigs. I just put that in there to make Malon sound not quite so ditzy. ^-^ I swear, I get so hyper when I'm tired, I think I'm going to go break something... 

April: Erm, daijoubu ka? 

SailorZelda: Nani? Why are you showing off Japanese words that you can say? And yes, I'm okay! It's just that watching this weird ballroom dancing stuff is making me all weird... 

April: Well, I had to do SOMETHING after you just ditched my Spanish abilities! 

SailorZelda: I'm going to bed....Good night. :: falls over :: 

April: Um....hey!? HELlO!? MORON! Lemme see.....that's not working. Okay...Oh, Mistress of my Existence and the Existence of This Fic? 

SailorZelda: :: springs up :: WELL! I don't think I've ever heard anything so nice come from you! 

April: Hmp! 

Okay.....enough. I'm tired. I still gotta go post this......oh, JEEZE somebody tell me to shut the freak up! IT'S ELEVEN O'CLOCK FOR NAYRU'S SAKE!!! Okay, I'm done. 

Ja ne, minna-san! 

SailorZelda~ 


	12. Books and Time

**Hola! I'm back again. It's becoming hard to keep up five stories at the same time. And...I have in mind ANOTHER ONE which I want to start soon! ^~^ How fun for me, neh? *Purely sarcastic...well, not quite* I actually want to start that one a lot, but I think I'll wait until I'm done with one of the stories, so I can focus on it more. Lesse, this chapter. Yeah. Well, I hope you guys are liking the fic so far! From the twenty-seven odd reviews that I've gotten, I think you are liking it .I have a request. When you review, could you please tell me if there's something you don't get, or something I need to change? Constructive criticism is always accepted. But, don't ever, EVER flame me unless I tell you that you can! (Which you CAN'T!) Because, if you flame me, I will first laugh at you until I fall out of my chair, delete your review if it's not signed in, and then I will make a fool out of you in any possible way. ^-^ Doesn't THAT sound pleasant!? No. Sooooo, please review, and please enjoy!  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey, people?" April asked on a sudden impulse.  
  
Everyone looked up at her.  
  
There were four people at the table at the moment. April, Malon, Talon and Impa. They had been eating dinner, and up until then, it had been quiet. April secretly wondered if she was getting any better at cooking, which would mean that her cooking was at least tolerable, if not good.  
  
But, aside that, April had always found quiet uncomfortable. Which might explain why she was constantly voicing her thoughts, even at the wrong times, sometimes. But, she also had suddenly had an idea.  
  
"Does seven years sound like a long time to you?"  
  
Malon stared ahead for a moment, before realizing what she was talking about and looking quickly over at her. Impa seemed to consider it for a second, before she turned to the Princess, too. Sometimes, the things that she would say were out of the blue and didn't really mean anything. But she could tell when the girl sometimes had an alternate motive for saying them. This statement sounded like one of those.  
  
"Why?" she asked, somewhat suspiciously. April shrugged.  
  
"Sometimes it could be," Talon suddenly said. "But, sometimes, seven years can seem like no time at all."  
  
"How does that work?" April said.  
  
"Well, for example, it seems like it's been me and Malon for so long, ever since her mother died."  
  
Malon shifted uncomfortably in her chair.  
  
"But, then, I can remember the day she was born like yesterday, a little more than ten years ago. Time is whatever you make of it."  
  
"Hm," April thought. That did seem to be true she remembered clearly some days...  
  
2:58  
  
*Come ON, you stupid bell, RING!! RING!!!*  
  
2:58, 15 seconds....  
  
*AAH!*  
  
But then there was also....  
  
"Okay, just gimme five more minutes to sleep.....five more minutes..."  
  
Seemingly two seconds later...  
  
"April! GET UP!!"  
  
*Grrrrrr...*  
  
Yeah, time was annoying, sometimes. It never did what you wanted it to.  
  
April realized something. "Hey! Now, it's too quiet, and this discussion is too serious! Let's talk about something else!"  
  
"Like what?" Malon asked her.  
  
"Dessert!" April said as she smiled broadly.  
  
"Is food all you ever think about!?" Malon asked playfully, at which April stuck her tongue out.  
  
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.  
  
"I'll get it," Talon said as he got up.  
  
April heard the door creak open, then he heard two people mumbling. Talon, obviously, and a woman's voice. She then heard Talon coming back to the table.  
  
"Who is it?" she asked.  
  
He looked to Impa instead of answering her right away. "Does anybody know that you're here?" he asked.  
  
The woman looked alarmed, and shook her head.  
  
"Well, there's an old woman at the door who says she knows you...and the Princess, too."  
  
A look of understanding came into Impa's eyes, and then she got up and went to the door. April turned her head around in her chair to look at the doorway. A little too quickly, because in her surprise, she...guess what? She fell out of her chair.  
  
Malon coughed, trying not to laugh too much. "Very graceful..." she said, under her breath.  
  
April smiled towards the doorway, glared at Malon, the untangled herself from the chair.  
  
"How is it that I always manage to make a spectacle of myself!?" April asked, to nobody in particular, as she got up.  
  
"I don't know, but ya sure do a good job of it," Malon responded.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Ahem," came Impa's response from the doorway.  
  
"Our Princess is very entertaining," said an old woman's voice, which April recognized almost immediately. She turned around to face the doorway, and was happy to see that the woman, Monoka, was smiling slightly.  
  
"I remember you," she said, since nothing else came to her mind right away.  
  
"Aye, and I remember you well, Destiny's Princess."  
  
But then, something did come to April's mind, and she was voicing her thoughts before she realized what they meant. "Something's wrong, isn't it?" Her words surprised everyone, including herself. Well, all but Monoka.  
  
"Because..." April started to say, but stopped when she saw what must have been another vision flash into her mind. She saw green, then what looked like Lon Lon from how an airplane might have seen it. Then there was red in and surrounding the ranch. Red meant danger, and although April didn't know where that knowledge had come from, she knew it was true. Then the scene below her flickered out and turned to blackness.  
  
She didn't realize she had been closing her eyes until she opened them. And when she did, she saw that everyone was staring at her. "What?" she asked.  
  
"I could ask you th' same," Malon said.  
  
"I know what it is you saw," Monoka said to April. (A/N: MUAHA, Lord of the Rings! Isn't that what that one chick with blonde hair said!? I'm a copycat, yeah) "Because it is also what I have seen. That's why I had to come and warn you, and to remind you about the book."  
  
"Book...?" April asked.  
  
In the equation that was April's memory, the only thing that was needed to equal her remembrance of the Legend book was a "Hello?!" look from Monoka.  
  
"Oh, that book," she said quickly.  
  
"What book?" Malon asked from across the room.  
  
"This is getting a little repetitive," April mumbled. "Oh, I'll show you later..." she said to Malon. "Hey, are you listening?"  
  
"It's my house," Malon said.  
  
"It's your...?" April thought. "Well, this is MY conversation!"  
  
"Well, so what!?"  
  
"I don't know!!"  
  
Malon shrugged, picked up her plate, and walked towards the kitchen.  
  
"So, yeah..." April said. "I guess we'll be watching out for whatever is going to happen."  
  
"Of course," Monoka replied. "But you won't have to worry just yet. You'll have enough time."  
  
"Enough time for what?" April said.  
  
"Oh, I think you'll be able to figure that out," the old woman told her. With that, she reached into her cloak and pulled something out. Without seeming to move her arm or body at all, she disappeared in a flash of white light via dekunut, April realized after the initial shock.  
  
April moved her arm slightly up and down as if she were throwing one herself, unconsciously copying what she had seen both Impa and Sheik do before. "That is SO cool," she said quietly.  
  
There was suddenly a crash, like breaking glass, from the left of the doorway. Malon had dropped her plate.  
  
April snapped her eyes in that direction. "I thought you were putting your plate away?"  
  
"Opps," Malon said, shoving the pieces aside with her foot and retreating into the kitchen.  
  
* * *  
  
"What is it? What's in it?"  
  
"I actually have no clue."  
  
"Where'd you get it from?"  
  
"The castle library."  
  
"Why'd ya take it?"  
  
"I dunno."  
  
"What's it called?"  
  
"You promise not to say anything about it?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"The Legend of Zelda."  
  
The title of both the book and her beloved "game" flew off April's tongue easily as she answered Malon's bombard of questions. Malon had stopped walking around the room for a second and stood still. She suddenly just shook her head and continued her orbit around April's bed, thinking it was another one of those "destiny" things.  
  
Malon had volunteered to "help" the princess find the book , but the only real thing she was doing was walking around talking to her. That didn't matter very much to the blonde, though.  
  
"Where'd I put this thing!?" April asked herself as she dug around under Malon's bed. "What's UNDER here?!" she asked, directed more at Malon than at herself.  
  
She clearly remembered the book being by the bed that first morning here. Being only the third day, she didn't think anyone would have moved it, seeing as she and Malon were the only ones up here, and Malon hadn't even known of the book's existence until that night.  
  
"Oh, duh," she told herself as she reached under the pillow and felt the leathery cover of the green book. She pulled it out and mentally kicked herself for not remembering to pull it out and look at it before just then. In fact, she had specifically put the book under that pillow on the first day to remind herself to look at it.  
  
"Oh, well," she said out loud. "Hey, it's a lot for a kid to think about!"  
  
"Are you talkin' to yourself?" Malon asked her.  
  
"What can I say, I need help," April said in mock seriousness.  
  
"So, what's with that book?"  
  
"Hm," April sighed, turning to the first page. She had never gotten past that point in the book, and she figured now was as good a time as any to start looking at the rest of it. She didn't want to regret not preventing some disaster from happening when she could have by simply reading something.  
  
On the first page was a lot of writing. Not being very interested in the written word, and meaning to come back to them later, April started to flip through the pages. She came across more writing and a few assorted pictures that blurred with the flipping of the pages. But, once April got to the seventh page, the pattern disappeared. The pages were blank.  
  
"W-whoa!" April said, tossing the book onto the bed.  
  
"What?" Malon asked.  
  
"That book is possessed! The rest of the pages are blank!! What is UP with that?!"  
  
Malon gave April an odd look and went to pick up the book for herself. She looked at the pages, not really reading anything, until she reached the seventh page, she stopped for a moment before quickly running the pages of the book through her finger from the back of the book. They were all blank. She slammed it shut and held it out to April.  
  
"So, take the thing and read it! Or, at least, what's already there," Malon told her.  
  
"How pointless!" April said, ripping the book from Malon's hand and sitting down on the bed. "Let's see...." she said to herself. "Read that already..." she said, indicating the passage on the first page. "Ah, here." The next page had a lot of writing on it, which April began to read to herself. Well, she only got to the first two words before Malon interrupted her.  
  
"What's it say?" Malon asked.  
  
"Can you not read it yourself?" April asked her.  
  
"Well, for one thing, it's upside down."  
  
"From where your standing," April said, turning the book to her.  
  
Malon looked at the writing for a moment, before quirking her eyebrow and looking up at the princess.  
  
"It's 'n ancient Hylian," she said, curiously. "Well, from what I c'n make of it. I kinda know what it looks like."  
  
"Really?" April inquired, turning the book back to herself. Surely, the letters weren't English. 'But should they be?' April asked herself. She turned back to the first page, the passage. It seemed to be in that same language. April hadn't even realized it before, which startled her slightly, because she could read it fluently.  
  
"Why, so it is..." April said. "That's funny!"  
  
"Why?" Malon asked.  
  
"I didn't even know I could speak regular Hylian, let alone read it, or not even thinking ancient Hylian!"  
  
"Well, you're speakin' Hylian right now, so doesn't that tell you something? As for readin' it, the title of this book is in Hylian, from what I saw, and you knew what it said."  
  
April sat back on the bed. She was speaking another language? "I think I'm speaking English, or is that just what my mind is hearing."  
  
"I don't know what "English" sounds like, but I can understand what you're sayin', so I assume you're speakin' Hylian."  
  
"How bizarre," was April's only response. "And I have no clue in the Dark Realm where I learned how to read an ancient language." April thought for a moment. "Ah," she realized. "The Triforce."  
  
."What about it?" Malon asked.  
  
Not having told anyone she had talked to one of the Goddesses, let along gotten a part of their Triforce, April didn't plan on doing so just yet. "Nothing."  
  
'But what about reading it before you'd even gotten the piece?' a part of herself asked. 'How did you read it then?' April planned to find out, sooner or later.  
  
"Right," Malon said. "Well, seein' as you're the only one who can read what it says, why don't you do that?"  
  
"Oh, yeah."  
  
April opened the book to the second page and prepared to read.  
  
* * *  
  
***Oh, look. I ended it here. EVIL! Okay. I'm not talking a lot. I thought I'd give you guys a decently long chapter for having to wait so long to get another one. So, eh. This one isn't too bad, neh?  
  
I just felt like typing this. And my writer's block is mysteriously........You get the picture. *I will not jinx it by saying that it's....yeah.*  
  
Weird little things. Like April and ancient Hylian. What's up with that? Hm, your guess is as good as mine! *J/K!!*  
  
Hopefully we'll see another chapter soon. I think it's going to be interesting!  
  
Thanks for your patience!!  
  
SailorZelda~ 


	13. An Unwelcome Visitor

**Mmmmmmmaybe I can make chapters faster now. *Sigh* Okay.  
  
This chapter's hard to write. But you don't care.....probably. Because you just wanna read.  
  
Guess what? Betcha'll never guess! I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY! So, here's the chapter.  
  
* * *  
  
Thunder crashed in the dark sky above the land of Hyrule, followed quickly by lightning. It was becoming dark.  
  
In more ways than one.  
  
On a black horse, the Gerudo King made his way towards the shadow in the distance. He wasn't alone, either. There were two Gerudo women he had brought with him. Someone would have to help him with the horses. And he'd heard that this so-called ranch had the best in Hyrule.  
  
One couldn't very well storm a town without good horses.  
  
Meanwhile........  
  
A certain pair of girls were within that same destination, although very much unaware or what approached it. Yet, they wouldn't be for long.  
  
* * *  
  
"I hate thunder. It's sooooo stupid!" April said after the first thread of lightning lit up the room as if it were daylight.  
  
"I didn't know weather could be intelligent in the first place," Malon replied. "Are you stallin'?"  
  
April blinked. "Stalling? About what?"  
  
"There's a book right there in front of you that hasn't been read except for the first page. Do you really intend on reading the rest, or are you scared?"  
  
"Scared of what!?" April asked indignantly. "I'm not scared of any old printed piece of garbage!"  
  
With that bold statement, April began to read to herself. And, she didn't get to any more than the first two words, again, when Malon interrupted her.  
  
"Ahem!?" the redhead responded to the princess's silent reading.  
  
"Oh," April said. "Here: 'My dear Princess of Hyrule....'Um," she stated.  
  
"Go ahead. It's not gonna bite."  
  
"'My dear Princess of Hyrule,' yeesh, that sounds weird, 'I am happy to see, if you are reading my writings on this day, that our prophecies were not incorrect in the aspect of this unfolding legend. Although the matter is trivial, my name is Vaiya, and I am (or was, to your timeline) one of the seers of the Sheikah tribe.'"  
  
"Isn't Impa the only one left 'n Hyrule?" Malon interrupted.  
  
April looked up at her and glared. "Maybe. This book must've been written like a few hundred years ago. I thought you wanted to hear this."  
  
"Oh, right."  
  
"'Although my visions of the future are sometimes jumpy and surreal, it was not difficult for me to figure out that there was an ominous feeling of danger and dread that our future would hold.'" April slowed down a little as she read this. "'Would, being the word to use. Would, were it not for the Princess and the Hero from the rhyme I'd heard in my dream. And unless you are incredibly dense, Zelda,' ......Hey!"  
  
"Stop interrupting!" Malon said urgently. "This isn't a joke!"  
  
"No duh!"  
  
"Read!"  
  
"Blah blah blah....'And unless you are incredibly dense, Zelda, you must have figured out from that rhyme and the current events that the Princess is you.' Really, ya think? 'Then you must also know the destiny which you alone must uphold.' Yeah, great. 'These are the matters at hand. And although there are many, many more details which need to be spoken of, now is not the time.'"  
  
"Huh?" April and Malon stated at the same time.  
  
April read again. "'Although, as I have told you, future events are often blurry to my, this one was crystal clear. On the night you read my book, something will happen if I do not warn you of it. It is urgent that you understand. There is something I want you to do something right now. I want you to remember the vision you had tonight.' Okay, this is getting scary."  
  
"What vision? You have visions!?" Malon pressed.  
  
"Hm, yeah. But how this seer chick knows about it, I don't know."  
  
"Seers tend to be pretty good at knowin' the future, if not perfectly, at least to a certain point. Maybe vision 'n that stuff, since they're common to both of you, are picked up easily. Whatever it is; magic, destiny, Nayru only knows. But I think she c'n see them in her mind 'cause you can."  
  
April stared at her for a second. "That came out of nowhere. Or, maybe not."  
  
"Read," Malon commanded suddenly.  
  
"Sure thing. 'When you do that, try to feel your subconscious. This is a technique that you will come to know in the future, I'm sure. This is something only I can help you with at the moment, however. It is possible for me to channel a slight amount of the energy you need to your point in time because I can feel it so strongly. I know it will come to you soon. And when it does, you will know what to do.' I have to wait?"  
  
"Waiting seems pretty time consumin' for a pretty urgent situation!"  
  
"I don't disagree with you."  
  
At that moment, April tried to focus her thoughts on her vision. It quickly came back to her: the overview of Lon Lon, the red sense of danger, and the light. Then she felt that light, though an unfamiliar light, in her sensitive subconscious mind. Something inside her mind clicked, and she felt as if she were in her vision. She could feel a cold wind, and the thunder in the sky sounded and felt more real.  
  
She tried to open her eyes, yet realized that they already were. She spun around, realizing that she was floating hundreds of feet above Lon Lon.  
  
"ACK!" she shrieked. "Just a tad to bizarre for me!!"  
  
"Ditto, here!" Malon said from somewhere behind her. April turned her head again.  
  
"What the hell just happened here!?" April asked nobody in particular.  
  
"This is pretty odd," Malon said quietly, turning fully to face her. "You don't even know!?" she screamed.  
  
"No, I don't! I thought about my vision, and then BOOM! We're freaking floating in the freaking sky!!"  
  
"Calm down," Malon sighed. "Okay, when you closed your eyes, you obviously were thinkin' about your vision. I was watchin' you, and as I was, I saw a tiny little dot of white light come outta nowhere and go into your forehead. Then, if I may quote, BOOM! Yeah, we're in the sky."  
  
"You talk too much!" April said, exasperated.  
  
"That's not exactly our biggest concern right n-" Malon abruptly cut off her own words.  
  
"What?" April asked as she saw Malon quickly stop talking and look down. "Are you afraid of heights?"  
  
Malon, completely missing the insult, simply said, "There's somethin' down there!"  
  
"Of course there's something down there! The ground!"  
  
"No! Something that's movin'! It's right outside of the gates, outside the ranch!"  
  
"Really?" April didn't particularly want to look down. But she did, and when she did, she saw little black dots heading towards Lon Lon. "Little dots?" April asked out loud. "Come to think of it, those dots look like horses."  
  
"Hey, all of our horses are inside for the night." Malon paused. "Ya think they're travelers?"  
  
"Not likely," April said.  
  
"Why do you say that?" Malon asked, almost fearfully.  
  
"I suddenly have a really bad feeling."  
  
* * *  
  
Impa was downstairs inside Lon Lon's house, when something began to feel not quite right. She walked quickly up the stairs to Malon's room, where the two girls supposedly were. When she got there, she opened the door, only to find an old book opened to a page at what looked like the beginning. She could sense an ominous resin of magic that had been recently used in the room. She knew it was a fairly common type of magic among the Sheikah, a type which she herself had often used. What she didn't know was where it had come from, that is, who had cast it.  
  
Zelda was certainly advanced in this field for someone who hadn't been taught in its ways, but she knew that Zelda could cast any magic. Purposely, that was. Unbeknownst to her, Zelda could use magic while she slept. That was mainly where her visions came from.  
  
Impa walked over to the book, tilting it so she could see the words written on its pages. She only had to read the first three lines.  
  
Vaiya.  
  
She recognized that name immediately. She'd heard of this Seer before. She heard the name, and remembered its close connection to The Legend. She had supposedly been the first of any in Hyrule, or anywhere on the planet, for that matter, to see and then record visions of the upcoming disaster. There was another of her tribe who bore that name. When she was born, Monoka had felt a presence of the ancient Seer, and, as she had with Zelda, seen her role in Destiny.  
  
These thoughts had come in and out of her head in mere seconds. When the Seer had said trivial, she had been right in using it now. Impa sensed something dangerous as soon as she had walked into the room. And, as she read further into the book, her suspicions were confirmed.  
  
The Princess had had to use this magic to escape the situation, which you didn't do unless you were hurrying somewhere, or were trying not to be seen.  
  
"Sweet Nayru," she swore as she shoved the book aside, not thinking about it, and rushed out of the room.  
  
* * *  
  
"What in the Dark Realm do you MEAN that you think those are Gerudo!? That's really bad!"  
  
"Malon, calm down! We'll just have to, uh, I mean...." April stuttered to find a response.  
  
"What!? Calm down!? How can I when you're the one who told me it was a bad thing if Ganonjerk or those Gerudo gals found out where you are!?" Malon's response only seemed to frustrate April more.  
  
"Well, I don't know!" April sighed. "I'm gonna have to get out of here."  
  
"A-duuh, ya think?"  
  
"Don't mock me," April deadpanned. "But, what about Impa? I need her! What about you!?" April grew concerned.  
  
Malon met her eyes with a lever gaze. "Listen. You're the one he's after, not me. Don't you think it's more important that you get away than me? And, knowin' Impa, it'll be no problem for her to find you."  
  
"That's.....true, I guess. But, how can I run? It seems so spineless!"  
  
"Would you rather be dead?" Malon's words sent a shiver up the back of April's neck.  
  
"That's convincing. Do you tell that to all of your friends?"  
  
"Not all of my friends are being chased by evil, psycho, hell-bent Gerudo kings."  
  
"Lovely. Okay, I'm gone. To where, I dunno. But I'm gone." April surveyed her surroundings, again. There was nothing much to look at, except for an overview of the region of land outside Lon Lon. "Oh, goody. We're stuck."  
  
Malon looked around, too. She observed the same as April. She began to walk backwards, a habit of hers when she was trying to think about something. Suddenly, it was as if she had felt an edge of this, whatever it was, that they were on in the air.  
  
"Wuaa!!" Malon shrieked as she tried to keep herself from falling over the side. When she did get her balance back, she turned to April and said, "Oh, I wouldn't say that."  
  
Several minutes later, and several shrieks from both girls after nearly flying over the side, they discovered that they were on an invisible platform, or what seemed to be one, in the air. There was a smaller path leading off to what seemed to be the area near Kakariko.  
  
"Greeeeeat." April turned to Malon. "There's only one way down. I don't particularly feel like slithering my way all the way down to wherever that thing, the little path, ends. Plus, how do I know it even ends near the ground!?"  
  
"How do you know it doesn't?" Malon imitated April.  
  
"Shut up."  
  
* * *  
  
The King of the Gerudo sneered as he approached the gates of the shadow looming before him. He could sense that little brat of a princess even from here. He knew she was here, and he wanted to make sure she knew he kingdom was no longer in her hands. He wanted her to know that there was nothing she could do to stop him from taking over Hyrule, now that he had the Triforce.  
  
What he didn't know was the Zelda was directly over his head, hundreds of feel in the air.....  
  
* * *  
  
Howsat!? Ya like? I don't know, you tell me!!  
  
Let's get something straight before I cause confusion. According to my little mind, Ganonjerk doesn't know that Zelda has the Triforce of Wisdom at this point in the story. So, that means that he will find out later. Which will cause a really unfortunate coincidence, if all goes according to my plan of the story thus far....Oh, I've already said to much!! *Laughs maniacally* Sorry...  
  
So, thanks for reading, peeps!! I'll try to update more often!! SUMMER'S HERE!!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!  
  
  
  
Love,  
  
SailorZelda~ 


	14. Shadow Temple

**Mmmm, I haven't exactly worked on this story in a while. But, then again, fanfiction.net hasn't been up for a while, either. So, I have an excuse for not posting! MUAHAHA!!! Does anybody care to explain to me why fanfiction.net insists on depriving me of fanfiction!? Grrr! .....Yeah. I think that I will just shut up, as you all had obviously had a lack of fanfiction updates over the last weeks, as well... 

*** 

'I'm scared....This is so stupid....I can't do this....SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!!' 

April clung to the narrow, invisible path in the sky for dear life. She estimated that she must be at least a thousand feet in the air...But then, again, one always tends to exaggerate when they are in a sticky situation. 

"That's...IT!" April stopped her slow climb forward and turned back to Malon. "I can't go forward anymore! I'm gonna fall and die!" 

"Do you hon'stly think I like this any better than you!? Now, just keep goin'!" 

April swore under her breath, but continued her crawl. 

"You do notice that we've only gone about twenty feet, right...?" 

*** 

Impa was rushing down the stairs in the house as Lon Lon. When she got to the bottom of them, she quickly threw open the door, and stepped outside. Night had set in, and the moon didn't seem to be around at the time. Although, she was too busy looking at the sight to her right to be concerned with what was in the sky. 

Three riders, all on horses that obviously had not come from Lon Lon, were riding in the ranch from the gates. The one in the front seemed to be the leader, and Impa thought she knew right away who it was. 

Although they were too far away at the moment to have been able to see her clearly, she decided that it was best not to risk anything. She retreated back into the house and prepared to use a spell she was all-too familiar with. She had a pretty good idea that this spell would lead her to where Zelda was. 

*** 

"I'm gonna fall..." 

"No, you are not! You're such a baby! Just keep going, and we're on solid ground, THEN you can bug the living Dark Realm out of me!" 

April whimpered and continued to crawl forward. 

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and then it again went dark. The light seemed to have come from behind them, and both girls turned their heads to see what could have caused it. 

They turned back, and April made out a figure in the blackness of the night. But, before either of them had time to panic, they heard a familiar voice from the shadow. 

"Zelda? Malon?" 

"Oh, my God! Impa! Don't scare me like that!" April sighed in relief. 

"How did you...?" Malon began. 

"I was just about to ask you girls the same question." 

April answered for everyone. "It's all that stupid book's fault! I knew that I never should have picked the thing up in the first place." 

Malon finished her thoughts. "Somehow, an ancient Sheikah transferred energy for a spell to Zelda, and we just kind of ended up here..." 

"Nobody just "ends up" changing the air for their purposes. Not even some of those most skilled in magic can master this skill." 

"Change the air? What is that supposed to mean?" April asked. 

"It's what you did. What we are standing on right now is a platform of warped air, somehow made by you girls. Are you sure it was the book that did it?" 

"Yeah," April said. "We read it, and it was like it was talking to us through all those years, you know? But, anyway, that Seer said that we were in danger where we were. I don't really know what I did, but when I remembered that vision I had earlier, we were here." 

"Something bad is happening at my home..." Malon said suddenly. 

"I think we kind of figured that out, before," April started. "That book told me..." 

"...That it was dangerous." Impa finished. Her tone darkened, and she said, "I think that Ganondorf has figured out where we were." 

April bit her tongue at the mention of him. 

"That book was saying that there were other things that needed to be said, but that it could wait." Malon started to stand up on the narrow path. "But obviously, Zelda's life was in danger if she stayed there any longer..." 

Before Malon could say anything else, April suddenly burst out, "The book! Oh, great!! I left it there...And I think I really needed to know what else was in it..." 

"I could get it for you." 

April turned her head quickly to where Malon was. "No way. No way in all of hell. Do you know how insane that guy is? He'd kill you as soon as look at you if he knew that you had been dealing with me! And you want to go back down there!? I don't think so!" 

"Hey!" Malon turned towards April. "My home, and possible the people there, are in danger, too! I want to go down there and see what's going on!" 

"But....You might get hurt! Or....worse!" April tried reasoning with the girl. 

But, Malon was as stubborn as she was. "My family might get hurt, or worse. And if there's anything I can do to prevent it, I'm going to!" 

"Zelda," Impa interrupted. "If Malon thinks that its best for her to go back, even if we don't agree with her, we should respect her wishes..." 

"What is this!?" April asked, indignant. "Everyone decides to go insane day!? Fine! Malon, if you want to go, then do! I'm not stopping you!" 

Malon only managed to keep her annoyed look for a moment longer. Then, she said, "It's not like I'm abandoning you, ya know. We both have something to protect." She raised her eyebrows. 

April sighed. "Impa, can you take her down there?" she asked, avoiding Malon's eyes. 

"Yes, and we'll get that book, too," her guardian answered. 

"Good, then." She looked at Malon. "Take care of yourself, okay?" 

Malon nodded, and then turned around towards Impa. Within seconds, they were both gone. April was now only halfway curious as to how Impa, and herself for that matter, had managed to perform that trick. 

While thinking to herself all the insulting things she could say about Malon's stupidity, she crawled back to the area that had more space for her to sit. She sat on the "floor", her chin resting in her hands. It wasn't until this moment that she started to think of what was going to happen, next. She had known since they had arrived at Lon Lon that they were going to have to leave eventually, but she hadn't really considered what they would do when they did. 

"Yeah, real smart, Miss Holder of the Triforce of Wisdom..." she muttered to herself. 

She tried to turn over the situation in her mind; tried to think of anything else but Malon at the moment. Even though she didn't approve of her decision and thought it was stupid, she knew that she would miss the girl. And if she hadn't been so busy trying to be angry, she probably would have been crying. 

There was another flash, and Impa was back. She had the book, too. "Zelda...?" she called. 

"Here," she responded. 

Impa walked over and sat down in front of her. At the same time, April covered her face with her hands and sighed. The Sheikah looked at the girl in front of her. That simple gesture had made her look a lot older than she was, and Impa almost had to wonder if this was the same girl who had been here moments before. After a moment, there came a muffled, "What are we going to do...?" from her. 

When she had asked that question, she felt tears burning at the corners of her eyes, but she refused to let herself cry. For once, she was going to be the strong one. 

Suddenly, she felt a hand close around her arm and helped her stand up. She looked up at Impa. 

"We are going to go to my people for help," the women said, in answer to April's question. 

April was immediately confused. "But, I thought...?" 

"...That there were no more Sheikah left in Hyrule, but me and Monoka? You would be right. But, what about outside of Hyrule? There, you will find them. But, only if you know where to look." 

"And, where do you look?" April asked. 

"First, you need to go through the Temple of Shadows, built by ancient people to protect the barrier between Hyrule and its Mirror..." 

April's eyes widened. _'Temple of Shadows? That sounds an awfully lot like the....Shadow Temple....HOLY CRAP!! That was my least favorite Temple in the game. It's so creepy! How am I going to go through it without having a heart attack?'_ April snapped back into reality when she remembered something she wanted to ask Impa. 

"What do you mean, between Hyrule and its Mirror?" she asked Impa. 

"Hyrule's Mirror, its Shadow Dimension...There are many names for it, but it's basically a reflection of Hyrule, in that the people are Sheikah, and not Hylian. It's boundaries only go out to where Hyrule Castle Town would be, because the other areas in Hyrule were added to Hyrule's territory centuries after these dimensions existed. After you reach there, you would only wind up back in the normal Hyrule. Nobody's really sure how it works..." 

"Okay, that explains some things, such as why there aren't any Sheikah in Kakariko left..." April said this more to herself than to Impa. 

"In addition," the Sheikah added. "The people there are also sort of "reflections" of the people in Hyrule. You may have heard myths that the Sheikahs are Shadows of the Hylians. This is somewhat true. People - Hylians, that is - born in Hyrule, have a sort of reflection of themselves in Hyrule's Mirror." 

"Kind of like a twin?" April asked. 

"Not quite, but its close enough for people who don't know how else to explain it. You see, this other person would be basically the same age as them, and would sometimes look similar...The whole system of the dimensions is very complicated." 

April shrugged. "That's okay. As long as we can get help from the people there, and I don't get my head chopped off by any demented Stalfos in the Shadow Temple, then it's okay." 

"Stalfos aren't the only thing we have to worry about..." Impa said, quietly. 

April's eyes widened. 

Impa glanced at her and laughed, slightly. "But, I don't think we have to worry about It too much, because the thing hasn't been seen for centuries." 

"It!?" April asked. 

"A demon, created from the very shadows of Hyrule's bloody history. Although, it has been sealed in the Temple of Shadows as a kind of "guardian" and cannot break free from the seal, unless something upsets the balance that keeps it there..." 

_'Damn,'_ April thought. _'That thing, I think it might be what I know as Bongo Bongo, that creepy Shadow Temple boss that I could never beat...And if its true that that's where it is, I really hope that it doesn't decide to have two residents of Hyrule for a midnight snack...'_

__"So, when do we leave?" April asked. 

"Right now." 

*** 

The entrance to the Temple of Shadows loomed in front of April, and the feeling emanating from it nearly made her faint. It felt like a thousand tormented souls calling out for help from the only source of light...And April did not like the fact that the Temple was known for its air of death and blood. 

She remembered that it really hadn't taken them long to get there. Impa had taken a small instrument from somewhere, and it kind of resembled the Ocarina of Time. It was smaller, however, and April noticed that it was more blue in color than was the Ocarina of Time. 

Impa had told April to hold onto her as she began to play a haunting, and yet familiar, song. April tried placing its name, and then she remembered the scene from the game where you learn that song from Sheik. It was the Nocturne of Shadow. 

Before April could say anything, a purple light engulfed both of them, and April felt herself being carried away to someplace...When she finally opened her eyes, again, they were in some kind of graveyard. It took her a moment to realize that they must be in the graveyard of Kakariko. She finally did realize this, and was able to recover from the shock of being there in a matter of seconds. 

She turned away from the graveyard to see what looked like a doorway in the wall opening up. 

"Wow," she had said. "No wonder you can't get into the Temple from the graveyard unless you play that thing..." 

Sooner then she would have liked, they were walking in towards the entrance of the Temple. And this lands them at their present place. 

"What does that writing on the platform thing say?" April asked Impa. 

"It's written in an ancient Sheikah language. I can read most of what it says, but the words carved on the stone are forbidden from being spoken. Nobody else I know of can decipher it, and that's why not many people are taught the way to the Temple." 

"Why can't you say what's on there?" April had asked. 

"It's the seal that keeps the Shadow Beast within the confines of the Temple...And not even the people who built the Temple knew what would happen if they allowed the spell to be recited again." 

"That's really creepy, I mean...This thing is supposed to stay sealed in here, but nobody even knows what would happen if you say what's on here..." April looked towards yet another sealed stone door on the far wall of the room which was the entrance to the Shadow Temple. "So, how do we get in there?" 

"That door," Impa said. "Can only be opened one of two ways. The first way is to use Din's Fire to light all those torches surrounding the platform...And that spell can only be performed by a select few." 

_'Link,'_ April thought immediately. 

"And, the other way is to give the password." Impa finished. 

"Password? Oh, I know! Like...open sesame!!" She giggled. 

"Not...quite." Impa turned towards the wall and began saying something in a language that she knew for sure she had never heard. The odd thing was that she could understand what it meant. 

Surprised by this, she glanced down at the platform under her, and looked at the words written on it harder than she had the first time. She was almost surprised, this time, that she knew exactly what they said. She thought that they must be written in the same language that the 'password' was in, because this Temple must have been built during the time that the language was used by the Sheikah. 

_'I wonder,'_ she silently asked herself. _'Does the Triforce of Wisdom allow me to understand and read all of these different languages...?'_

__As if in answer to her question, time seemed to slow down and then stop. April stared to panic, but when she saw a familiar blue glow begin to form in the middle of the circular platform, she realized that she was being paid a visit by a certain Goddess. 

"Nayru?" she asked, although she already knew that that was who it was. 

"Yes, child. It is I," the Goddess Nayru said in response. 

"I guess...what, you heard my question?" 

"Partially." 

"What? What do you...?" 

"I heard what you asked....And the answer to that question is yes, the Triforce does allow you to understand all written and spoken languages. And, before you ask, the reason why you were able to read the book before you obtained the piece was because that was written in Hylian...Or, as you would call it, English." 

"Oh," April said, a little overwhelmed. "But, what did you mean, partially?" 

"The answer to you other question," Nayru answered, straight to the point. "Your unspoken question about telling the Sheikah woman about the Triforce. And..." The Goddess interrupted April before she could even ask. "Yes, about everything else. About the fact that you are not the real Zelda. No matter how difficult it may seem, you have to tell her about the Triforce. There will be a seer where you are going who will be able to help you with this. Although," The Goddess eyes seemed to shine almost mischievously at this point. "The future of Hyrule would be in danger if you were to tell her about the other truth." 

"So, are you saying that I should keep it a secret?" April asked, almost not believing. 

"Not so much keep it a secret as conveniently forget to mention to anyone who you really are. I know that you are just as strong as the original Princess Hyrule, and that you will not have any more difficult of a time handling the situation than she would have. But, if anyone knew that you were not really her, Destiny only knows how anybody would react." 

"I get it then," April said. "And I'll make sure I do whatever I can to help Hyrule...I mean, I don't know exactly what Zelda did during those seven years, but...I'll do whatever it takes." 

"Good," Nayru said, and then started to fade out. Time seemed to slip back into focus and April heard Impa finish the password. 

She turned towards the opening stone doorway, and swallowed mentally. She walked up to Impa, and wordlessly, the two of them entered the heart of the Temple of Shadows. The stone door slammed back into place behind them, and the light was taken away. There was no turning back from here... 

*** 

**Hey, that was a pretty long chapter! ^-^ I hope you guys like how I'm writing this, because I sure am enjoying working on it. And I think it's only going to get better from here. I pretty much know what's going to happen. I think it will be interesting. *giggles* Ah, the ideas that keep popping into my head! And SUMMER encourages them!! YAAAAY!! ^___^ I think I will end on this happy note. 

Thank you for reading, and please review! 

SailorZelda~ 


	15. Shadow Dimension

**O.o() Hey, I'm doing two updates at the same time!! Wow!! *giggles* Sorry....But I'm happy!! o.o I don't know why, though... *notices that people are staring* Opps! Uh...heheee....Yeah. Another chapter for your reading pleasure. Yep, yep, yep. I can't quite think of anything else intelligent to say....Not that anything I said was intelligent... 

April: *shoves a sock in her mouth* 

SailorZelda: Mpp!!! Awheddfm mmmeepsh pmchsa!! (Translated: HEY!!! Anyways, enjoy the chapter!!) 

*** 

One of the main things about this darkness was that it was cold. Cold in an unnatural and deadly sort of way. The most scary thing, however, was the fact that the darkness seemed to be alive, almost like it was creeping up on the two unsuspecting women to claim their souls for its own dark purposes... 

_'Oh, stop it, April,'_ she thought to herself. _'It's just dark in here....In this...old....creepy....Temple full of death and tortured spirits!!'_ She cut off her thoughts again. 

"Um, so...Impa..." she said, with no other option to keep her mind from wondering to where she didn't want it to go. "This Temple was built by the Sheikah, huh? What was it used for? Looks kind of dark, and dreary and scary to me..." 

"The ancient people who built it didn't want intruders to be constantly barging back and forth through the two dimensions, and they didn't exactly build the Temple itself to be any kind of picnic, either. It was used to house the dead and seal tormented souls and demons away from either of the two." Impa replied. 

_'Which explains the blood...'_ April thought, her mind wandering to darker places again. 

"But, we're really not in any danger from those things...are we?" April asked tentatively. 

"There's always some kind of danger here." 

April put her hand over her mouth and whimpered. 

The Temple of Shadows was certainly not one of April's favorite places in Hyrule so far. After wandering through many corridors, doors, and chambers, (only once stopping to have to fight one of the "demented Stalfos" April was scared of, which Impa disposed of with skill, April looking on impressed) the two finally came across a set of double doors made of what once could have been fine polished wood and some kind of metal, but now looked so old and rusted that it didn't even represent wood in April's mind. Her mind, though, had had a morbid sense of thought throughout the entire Temple, so she couldn't really count on it for any kind of rational thought. When they approached the doors, however, April noticed that they were locked. 

"Oh, perfect..." April muttered. "Just peachy..." 

"Not to worry, Princess," Impa said, walked past her up to the doors. She took something from around her neck, a necklace that had been tucked under the armor she wore. There was a strange looking key on the end of it, which Impa used to unlock the doors. She pushed one of them open, gesturing for April to go in first. 

Once April was in, she glanced around at her surroundings. It was a plain room, made of stone, and lit with only a few dull torches. There were a few columns at the corners of the room, but nothing else that she could notice out of the ordinary. There didn't seem to be any other way to get out of the room, either. Then, April looked directly in front of her. 

What she saw was a mirror. It was like any other old-fashioned mirror April had seen before; it had a gold rim, and carvings of some kind of ancient writing on it. It stood on its own, away from the wall, and had two legs which somewhat resembled dragons' claws. 

She looked at her reflection, and it stared nonchalantly back at her. She saw her princess attire, which didn't faze her until she realized that she was wearing a plain dress she had borrowed from Malon. She gave the mirror a confused glance, which it reflected. She walked closer to it, seeing that everything else about her was reflected in perfect detail. Everything else... 

She stopped mid thought. One other thing was not perfect. Her normally blue-violet eyes were a dark red; so dark, though, that they could have passed for brown. That's why she had to blink and look a second time to make sure that she had seen it right. 

"Impa..." she turned around in alarm. "What's up with my reflection?" 

Impa laughed slightly at the Princess's choice of words. "What's 'up' with it is that it's seeing you as a member of the Royal Family, the only Hylians that can pass to Hyrule's Mirror." 

"But...what about...?" April stopped asking and pointed at her eyes. 

"Oh, that. They say that eyes are the window to the soul...and in this case, it's almost like you're seeing the eyes of your reflection, your other in the Shadow Dimension." 

"So, my...other....has eyes like this?" April again glanced at the mirror. "Kind of creepy..." 

"I don't think so....Especially when that's almost exactly the same color mine are," Impa said, widening her eyes a bit. 

April grinned sheepishly, feeling kind of stupid. "Sorry...." 

"Hm...." Impa muttered, walking ahead of the Princess. 

"So, um....Do we go through the mirror to go to that other dimension or something?" 

"Exactly. Oh, and no need to worry about the eye comment. Most races don't have people with eyes of that color, and most people have never seen them...You're probably too busy daydreaming to notice the color of people's eyes very often." 

April felt really small, since she knew half of it was true. She didn't think Impa was trying to make her feel bad, but people often did that without realizing it. 

"So," April said. "Are we going to go in?" 

"I have to go first," Impa said, stepping right in front of the mirror. She put her hand up to it, muttered something, and the mirror started to glow a faint blue. April gasped. Impa turned her head back to the Princess. "It will be safe to go as soon as I have passed through." 

With that, Impa went through the mirror, and was gone. It was surely the most bizarre thing April had ever seen. She almost didn't know what to do for several seconds, but soon found herself putting a hand up the to glass. She watched it with curiosity as it sunk through to the other side... Wherever that happened to be. 

When she felt her head slide through, she found her whole body seemed to be emerged in something that she somehow associated with liquid crystal. Although it didn't feel like she was getting wet, she felt as if she were in something that didn't feel right to be air. All at one, as if the liquid decided that it no longer wanted her there, she felt herself being tossed out onto something cold and hard. She landed on her knees, and glancing at the floor, she saw it was wood. 

She seemed to be inside some kind of building, a fairly large one, at that. It was dimly lit by what seemed to be candles, and there were odd sorts of decorations on the walls. On of the prominent designs she noticed was an eye with three triangles coming out of the top, and what looked like a teardrop on the bottom of it. She recognized it as the Eye of Truth, the equivalent of the Sheikah coat of arms. There was a bunch of stuff around the room, and April couldn't describe it any other way except to say that it was a bunch of stuff. 

That was when she looked slightly to her right. In that direction, she noticed a few people older than herself, some she recognized, a few she didn't, and a door. 

Still on her hands and knees, she blurted out, "Monoka!" 

The old woman smiled at her. "The one and only," she replied. 

"Is the Princess always so graceful?" said an older woman to the left of Impa. 

"Always!" April said, smiling. The other people in the room laughed slightly, while April got up to her feet and went over to Impa. 

"Fellow Sheikah," Impa said, putting one of her hands on April's shoulder. "I'd like you to meet Zelda, Princess of Hyrule. 

"Hi!" April said. "I don't exactly know what's going on here, but nice to meet you!" 

Monoka laughed, and moved towards her slightly. "This is the Council of Elders, of the Sheikah." 

"Which doesn't necessarily mean that we're old!" said a good-natured looking middle aged woman. 

Getting right to the point, Monoka said, "Before you landed in our entrance way, we were discussing the current situation, deciding what would be best for the safety of you as well as Hyrule." 

"That's pretty much all anyone can think of now, huh?" April said, still slightly bitter about Malon. 

"When we've got the future of Hyrule at stake," Impa said. "It doesn't hurt to be careful." 

Monoka further enlightened the girl. "What we've decided is that we're going to do is to keep you here until we know it's safe to do otherwise. As you know, we are a people of prophecy. We've agreed to have you meet with our seer, and see if we can't figure out further what the current situation involves." 

April was confused at this. "But, I thought you could see that kind of stuff, too....?" 

"Both your ability and mine are outdone when it comes to someone born specifically to the art. Every generation or so, one will be born that will have the Gift to the greatest extent, who will be able to see and piece together visions of the past, present, and future." 

"Oh, I get it...." April said. 

"So, I think we'll be going now?" Impa asked, although it sounded more like a statement that a question. 

She lead April out of the room, through the door to the outside of the building. It was still dark outside, which made sense because this whole ordeal, beginning with the escape from Lon Lon, had only started around dinner time. 

In fact, it was only at that time April realized how tired she really was. What time must it have been by then? Midnight, give or take? 

"Hey, Impa..." she said, yawning. "Where are we going?" 

"To my house," Impa replied. 

"Oh," April responded, only halfway paying attention. She was trying to look at her surroundings, but couldn't quite make them out because of the darkness. "You have a house here?" 

"Yes. I haven't been here in quite some time, but I did live here." 

"Were you born here?" 

"No, I was born in Kakariko. But, being a Sheikah, it was practical to live here for at least some time. However, that was before I came to work for your father as your guardian, which was when you were about three. So, it's been about seven years since I've been here..." 

"Hmm..." April hear that, and her mind immediately started to drift. _'Seven years..._' Something she really didn't need to be further reminded of, especially at this moment. 

She looked around further, trying to avoid any sensitive subject. She noticed that the surroundings looked sort of like a small village, and she could very faintly make out forest far away. Further down, in front of them, she could see what looked like a windmill. She guessed that that was where the "reflection" of Kakariko started. This whole dimension idea kind of hurt her brain, especially when it had been deprived of sleep for so long. 

With that, she thought of another question. "So, do you have a reflection? You know, like I do?" 

Impa seemed to think for a moment. "No. Being a Sheikah, and being born in Hyrule, there was no reflection of me in this dimension. Nobody has every really figured out exactly how it works." 

April pushed her hair back behind her ears. "Will I get to see my reflection, here?" 

Impa smiled. "Of course. You're bound to...It's inescapable." 

April was lost in her own thoughts again. She really wanted to meet this person, this "other" of herself. She wondered what they would be like, and what they would look like. She wondered if they would be like her at all, or a total opposite. She wondered if she could make friends with them, seeing as how hard it was for her to make and keep friends here. 

After some time, the two of them approached a house. It wasn't small, but it wasn't huge, either. It seemed to have two stories, and April saw that they were nearing the front door. It must've been Impa's house. And, if so, she knew that it hadn't been used in at least the time Impa had been gone. 

Or so she thought. Instead of taking out some key and opening the door, she knocked on it loudly and sharply. 

"What are you...?" April started to ask, but soon stopped. She head what sounded like something dropping onto the floor, followed by what sounded like muttering. When whoever was in the house came closer to the door, she heard what she understood through her Triforce piece to be a string of Sheikah curses. That person came closer, the muttering continued, and threw open the door.... 

*** 

_It was totally dark. She didn't know which way she had come from, or even which way she thought she was going. All she knew what that this dark would eat her alive if she were to let it._

_ Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a bright light. It was a golden light, something she knew to only associate with something of great power, or the goddesses. She turned towards it, and it turned out to be a single golden triangle._

_Suddenly, the calm of the dark ended, and from all sides she and the triangle was pummeled with tendrils of the darkness. She tried to get to the triangle, knowing that if she didn't something terrible would happen to it, or to her. Or to both of them. _

_She reached out for it, but it only seemed to stay in the same place, if not move farther away. It was at this point that she started to panic. She didn't know what she was supposed to do if she couldn't save this triangle. The only thing she could think to do was to call it by its name..._

_***_

__A sharp noise snapped her quickly from her vision. Even in her dreams, the calling of a Seer plagued her. She could never escape them for long, which was sometimes a good and bad thing. 

Vaiya had forgotten the force that had woken her from her dream, so when she heard the knocking again, she panicked and fell out of her bed, taking the blankets with her. 

She hit her head on the floor, and glared at the ceiling. Why did people have to come to her so early in the morning? Or so late at night? Which ever way one looked at it.... 

Muttering to herself, she stuffed the blankets back on her bed, and headed for the door that was down the hall and through the big room at the front of the house. She knocked a chair to the side in getting to it, and throwing out an additional string of profanities, wrenched open the door. 

What she saw there surprised her completely. A girl that seemed to be a few years younger than here stood there. She was blonde, with eyes of a blue violet. She could tell immediately that she wasn't a Sheikah. She didn't know what to make of her at first, but then she saw the other person at the door. 

"Impa...?" 

*** 

**Hmm. What do you guys think? *giggles* I wonder if you people are wondering who this chick is. Well, you get to find all of that out in the next chapter! I have a few new plot twists in mind, and something complete (maybe) unexpected planned. I really hope you guys are still enjoying this story. I'm just having so much fun writing on it! You wouldn't believe it....And, I can't wait to see your reactions!! 

Please review! 

SailorZelda~ 


	16. Unknown Future

**Did I take long enough in updating! Jeeze, what's wrong with me!?!? Sorry, but I think writer's block has crept up on me, again. *sigh* I'm having too much fun with my other story. And while I'm in this bored type mood, I'm gonna do a disclaimer. 

I don't own Zelda. 

Wow. That was the most boring disclaimer I've ever done! ^__^() 

*** 

April blinked at this strange girl who had just opened the door. She had dark hair and dark eyes that could have either been black or dark brown. It was hard to tell with the current lighting. She also had slightly tanned or olive skin, which made her look quite different than any other the other Sheikahs she had seen before. But, her facial features and mostly the slight slant of her eyes at the corners told her that she was without a doubt Sheikah. The thing that struck her as most strange, though, was that she seemed in an odd and almost scary way familiar. 

She suspected that this girl looked after the house for Impa, but for some reason it surprised her when she said Impa's name. 

It surprised her more when Impa replied with, "Hello, Vaiya." 

April's eyes widened slightly. She knew that name. It was from the Book, as she had taken to thinking of it as. She, or at least the Vaiya she was familiar with, was a seer, and had lived at the time the book was written. That must have been a time long before the dark haired girl before her was born, however. 

While April was lost in her own thoughts, Vaiya had started to smile and walked over to the other Sheikah woman, saying her name like she hadn't seen her in years. 

'Well, she probably _hasn't_,' April thought. 

"Long time no see!" Impa said as she embraced the girl warmly. She pushed her back after a moment, still holding her by the shoulders and seemingly studying her. "Look how big you've gotten!" 

Vaiya seemed to smile even more. "Surely bigger than the little eight year old girl you left seven years ago." 

April again mentally cringed. 

"But, how did you know I would be here?" 

"You're fifteen years old, nearly a full-grown woman. Being my niece and the only living air to my possessions, I knew you would have chosen to live here eventually. While I was gone, anyway. I'm almost surprised you didn't see that we would be coming here." The way Impa stressed the word "see" made April realize what she already knew, and that was that the girl was the seer Monoka had talked about. 

"Speaking of which, why are you back?" Vaiya's face suddenly darkened, and she seemed to answer her own question. She narrowed her eyes and muttered something under her breath which sounded to April like, "Hyrule is in danger." 

Seeing that Vaiya obviously had foreseen something about this, she continued. "It was the only place I could think that was safe, at least for the time being. Although, we won't be able to simply stand by and do nothing." 

"You knew that she has a part to play yet in delivering Hyrule from this evil." 

This comment might not have scared April had Vaiya's eyes not gone out of focus when she'd said this, like she hadn't really been talking, as if someone or something had been speaking through her. 

Vaiya nodded slightly, seeming to come back into focus, and then suddenly seemed to remember that there was another presence outside of the door. She glanced down at the Princess. 

"Greetings, Princess of Hyrule." 

April also seemed to remember herself, and responded with a simple, "Hi." 

"You are both tired by now, I know," Vaiya said. "You should come inside and get some sleep. We can deal with this tomorrow, or later." 

Vaiya turned first, and lead the other two into the house. 

*** 

A bright light shone right into April's face as she begun to wake up. She wasn't exactly appreciating the bright sunlight at the time, however, and she rolled back over onto her side and covered her head with a pillow and muttered unintelligible under her breath. 

"Zelda." 

Whoever had said this had obvious been right next to her, and she had obviously heard it, but she wasn't willing to get out of bed. She instead retreated further under her pillow and curled up. 

The person sighed in an annoyed way and yanked the covers off of her. 

"It's nearly noon, you know. Do you plan to sleep all day?" 

At this point in time, April really wouldn't mind sleeping all day. But this voice didn't sound like it was going to let her. She nodded, anyway, from underneath her pillow. 

"Well, that's too bad. Get up." 

April made an annoyed "tch" sound, but moved the pillow off her head to look up to see Vaiya standing there, hands on her hips. 

"You're mean," April told her simply. 

"And you are incredibly lazy for a princess." She didn't give April a chance to respond however, as she continued talking. "Impa already left some time ago to speak with the Elders again. She wanted me to talk with you. I can't exactly talk to someone who's asleep." With that, she turned around and went back down the stairs, obviously expecting the princess to follow her. 

April sighed, dragged herself out of bed, and started followed the older girl down the stairs, at the same time wishing that she had some new clothes. 

"If you want some clean clothes to wear, there are some in that old wardrobe to your left," she heard her call from the bottom of the stairs before she could even take the first step. 

'That girl is starting to scare me,' April thought, not quite used to people being able to read her thoughts, intentionally or not. 

She pulled out some clothes that looked like they would fit her and put them on. They did fit, and she thought that was odd because she knew Vaiya lived by herself and was obviously bigger than she was. They consisted of an off-white peasant-styled blouse and a light brown, slightly below knee length skirt. She didn't bother looking for any shoes. She was nearly surprised to find that not all Sheikah women dressed the way Impa did. Then she remembered seeing Vaiya in something very different just before. 

She suddenly stopped thinking too much of this. She felt kind of silly, because she was acting a lot like her old self. 

_Her old self..._

__That thought in itself almost immediately scared her because she acknowledged the fact that she had changed at least some from when she lived on Earth. Lately, she didn't really think of herself as that April. It nearly amazed her that she had forced herself to go from one person to a completely different one within the span of only a little over three weeks. She had vowed to herself that as long as she was stuck as this person, she would play that part. Although, she hadn't realized that she was not only playing the part but _becoming_ it. 

She shook her head, trying to get rid of these thoughts. Continuing down the stairs, she instead wondered what it was that Vaiya wanted to talk to her about. 

She walked into a room with a table and what looked like a pantry. A hall lead out to the living room and a few closed doors. 

Vaiya turned around before she heard the princess enter the room. "You must be hungry. Here." With that, she tossed something to the girl coming through the doorway. 

April looked down at what she had caught to see some kind of bread. She didn't hesitate in taking a bite of it. 

The older girl sat down at the table with a cup of something that could have been tea. She motioned for April to sit, as well, which she did. 

"Oh, and good morning, by the way," Vaiya said, once April was seated. April thought that it was a funny time to say it, as she had been awake for a little while by now. 

"I know that you must be a bit scared as to what's going to happen from here," she continued, getting right to the point. It was obvious that she shared some traits with Impa in that she wasn't afraid to speak what was on her mind. April also knew that when a seer said they knew something involving things like this, they didn't just know. They _knew_. But she nodded anyway. 

"What we had decided was that we were going to keep you here until we can be sure it's safe to do otherwise. I did know that you would be coming here, but sometimes I forget things like that when they happen, like when I had seen Impa for the first time in so long yesterday. Anyway, I'd had a vision about it and told the Elders. They wanted to keep you here, disguised as a Sheikah girl just in case you should ever need to leave this realm." 

April blinked. She didn't know why she would need to until it came time for Link to be released from the Sacred Realm. And even then, she wasn't sure exactly when the two were supposed to meet, and thinking that the Shadow Temple should be damned to every hell she could think of at the same time. 

"I also know something about this supposed "Hero of Time," the child you call Link. You expect to see him after the Sacred Realm lets him go. My visions had allowed me to see a rough timeline of about seven years. At the end of which, the reign of the Gerudo man over Hyrule would end. If things go according to plan." 

She paused for breath and to also look at the princess, who seemed strangely unaffected by any of this. She had known that the girl knew some things about the legend that was unfolding, but she was surprised at how very much she did seem to know. 

"If this is going to happen, you and I both know that you will need to play some part in defeating Ganon. I wish I was a little more clear on what exactly it is that you are supposed to do. Nonetheless, I'm sure that while you are here, we should train you in the ways of combat, in case you role should put your life at jeopardy." 

This certainly, to Vaiya at least, seemed like a lot to take in at one time. Although the princess did seem a little weary about the training, she seemed largely unmoved by the rest of it. The princess couldn't have possibly known that much without Vaiya at least knowing the girl had seen it. She shouldn't have been able to see it. 

"Do you have anything to say to this, Zelda?" 

Hearing her name, and snapping herself out of her half-trance, she looked up at the older girl. "Only that I'm sure you people know a lot more about what's going on than I do, and that I should trust you with Hyrule's safety and my own." After she had said it, she was nearly impressed at how royal she had sounded, putting the country before herself. 

"You are wise for your years, princess," Vaiya muttered, more to herself than the girl in front of her. "Which brings me to my next point." Vaiya seemed to lower her voice at this, as if the walls had ears. "I do know about the Triforce. The fact that Ganondorf got the Triforce of Power, you Wisdom, and the future hero of time Courage." 

April had known from her last little encounter with Ganon that she had taken the Triforce of Wisdom from him, but she hadn't been aware that Link had gotten the Triforce of Courage. She had never seen the cinema scene from the game which said this, although she had heard it from a magazine once. She didn't know it would work out the same even if Zelda had altered the path of at least part of the Triforce. She was in a way glad that he did, however, as they would have more to use against Ganon when the time came. 

"And along those lines, I know it will be able to help you in whatever hardships might lay ahead for Hyrule. Impa isn't aware of it, but I don't need you to worry about that. Let me take care of things with the Elders. " Vaiya almost seemed to pity her, as if having that much power, although not being able to use it to its extent, was something to pity. 

"With that out of the way, however, I'd like to say that I think it would be a better idea for you to get familiar with the village before we started your training." 

"Okay, then," April said, returning to her carefree girl mode and hopping out of the chair. "I'm gonna go look around." 

"And there's really no need for you to be very cautious, seeming as nearly everyone will know who you are by your face." 

April blinked. A lot of people in Hyrule didn't even know what she looked like because they had never seen her up close. They usually recognized her by her royal attire. That's why she thought she might at least be safe if she went to Hyrule disguised as a Sheikah if the need arose. 

"How's that?" she asked. 

It was Vaiya's turn to blink. It was almost like she hadn't meant to say what she just had. She answered the princess anyway. "It's something you will certainly discover for yourself." She left the conversation at that. 

April shrugged and shook her head slightly as she turned around and headed towards the door. 

*** 

Walking through the town, April discovered that there were several differences to this "dimension" than from the Kakariko she had seen. There seemed to actually be less people, but the atmosphere was friendlier somehow. The village extended farther than Kakariko did in Hyrule...and it ended after that, or so she had heard. She thought that maybe this dimension had come about by some fluke of the Goddesses, but she tried not to think it because she discovered that at least Nayru could read her thoughts on occasion. The last thing she needed to do was tick off some pagan goddess when she had nobody else in this dimension who understood that she was not Zelda. 

Trying to tear her thoughts away from things out of her control, she again looked at the scenery around her. She would have to get used to it, seeing as she would become very familiar with it over the next years. 

Perhaps paying too much attention to her surroundings, yet not enough to where she was going, she walked right into someone, who obviously hadn't been paying very much attention, either, as they both nearly stumbled to the ground. 

"Hey, watch where you're...." she trailed off as she looked at the person's face, realizing that they had had been saying the exact same thing she was. What surprised her, however, was that this person's face looked similar to hers. Although the person was boy, her age, and didn't look 'feminine' in any way, the traits made April think of Zelda's face. 

"....going?" she continued, her head tilting slightly to the side. She looked further, noting the boy's dark red eyes, and coming to the conclusion that this was her "mirror." 

He seemed to come to the same conclusion. "Oh, so you're Zelda." 

She blinked in confusion. This must have been what Vaiya was talking about, that everyone knew her by her face. He obviously was familiar with the fact that they were a similar person. 

April nodded. "And you...?" 

"...are extremely late!" he said suddenly, jumping backwards. "I will see you later, Princess!" With that, he ran around a corner and out of side. 

April continued to stare at where he had just been, mouth hanging open slightly and continuing to blink. 

*** 

**GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! DAMN EVIL DEMON WRITER'S BLOCK!!!! CURSES!!! AND SCHOOL STARTS REALLY SOON!!! I ONLY HAVE PRECIOUS ONE AND A HALF DAYS LEFT OF SUMMER!!!!!!! *starts throwing a fit and jumping around* DAMN IT TO THE SEVEN HELLS!!!!  
April: There's seven of 'em? 

SailorZelda: *smacks forehead* SHUT UP, YOU!!!! 

April: No more coffee for SailorZelda. 

SailorZelda: O.o I didn't have THAT much!!! ^__^() 

April: -_-() 

Ignore my insaneness, but I seem to have gotten writer's block on this fic. Curses. Which is actually kind of funny, because it should be a lot easier to write on this since it's more inward in the story than it was a few chapters ago and this chapter and onwards is the part of the story that has been sitting stewing inside of my head for the last half of a year. *sigh* Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Look for the next chapter, I hope I'll be able to get it up fairly soon. Are you people curious about what's gonna happen? I hope so! ^__^() 

Thanks a bunch o' crunch for reading!! Please review! 

SailorZelda~ 


	17. Explanations of some kind

**You know me and updating? No? Well, if you don't, we don't get along well. *mutters* I hate school and all the after-school rehearsals!!! ....Ahywhoo, thanks a whole lot to those people who reviewed!! You make me feel appreciated! (*does the Kirby dance*) (^-^)***(^-^)***(^-^)***(^-^)***(^-^)***(^-^)***^(^-^)^*** Please please please please please forgive my terrible lack of updates and keep reviewing, please please!!! 

*stands up on a chair* I OWN ZELDA!!!! BWAHAHAHAAAA! I HAVE FINALLY GOTTEN MY INSANE HANDS ON THE RIGHTS TO IT!!!!!! EHEHEHEHEHEHEEEEEEEEE- 

April: *shoves a sock in SailorZelda's mouth* Two words. Mountain. Dew. Ignore her, onegai. 

SailorZelda: *spits out sock* Okay, so I don't own Zelda. However....... 

April: -_-() Do you like the taste of sock? 

*** 

_'Part of the problem,'_ April thought, cursing her curiosity. _'is that the only thing you managed to do by being here was further confuse yourself. And forget curiosity...It's now "transfixed with the idea." What are they talking about, anyway!?'_ She was beginning to get annoyed with the fact that she wasn't able to hear through the door. 

After she had stood there considering for a good minute, she followed after the boy she had come across. He had been running, but it wasn't hard to figure out where he was going. Her path lead her to one of the only two buildings in this place that she had been inside of, that one room structure in which she had landed after going through the portal to this dimension. 

It would be way too obvious if she opened the door and tried to hear what was going on, and she knew she hadn't been invited to this meeting. So the girl decided to listen through the door. She had only heard a few words, but one of them send her mind into a whirlwind of ideas. Not a word, necessarily, but a name. 

Sheik. 

It had been obvious that it was the name of that kid from the way it had been used. She tried to listen to anything else that might give her an idea of what was going on in there, but she had a feeling that she would be finding out soon enough anyway. Along with that thought, she began to wonder more about this person. She'd been curious about him ever since he'd shown up in the game at home. She wondered why his name was Sheik, seeing as the race of people was called Sheikah. She'd have to ask when she got the chance. 

She heard some people moving around in the room, and decided it was a better idea to leave now than be caught at the door. She walked off to the side casually and headed towards a random building. 

Mere minutes later, she felt someone tap her shoulder and say, "Hello, again." 

She squeaked as she whirled around. She hadn't even heard anybody come up behind her, and that was the thing that had startled her. The person standing there, Sheik, looked like he expected an answer from her. 

"Hi," she said cautiously. 

"They told me to introduce myself to you. I'm Sheik, but I think you knew that already, seeing as you were listening to us before," he said, gesturing to the building behind them. 

She blinked, surprised. "H-how did you...?" 

"I didn't." He shrugged. "It just seemed like something I would do. Since you asked me how I knew that, you must have been." 

She watched as he started to walk away, looking like he expected her to follow him. She blinked again and looked to the side, trying to decide what she was thinking. '_It's too early for this,'_ she though as she followed him quickly. 

"Hey, you! Where are you going all the sudden?" she asked, catching up. 

"I'm going over to talk to Vaiya. We're talking about you, and I suppose that you're allowed to be there." 

She nearly muttered something that she might have regretted later, something to the effect of 'why are you people always so interesting in me and destiny and all of that-'. Instead, she rolled her eyes and sighed in an exaggerated way. 

"You don't really care much for first impressions, do you?" she asked dryly. 

"Not really." He shrugged. 

She sighed again, even though she attempted not to. "Sheik, then? Interesting name. Is it a nickname?" she asked, trying to make conversation. 

"Of sorts," he answered. 

"Oh? What's your real name?" 

"Wouldn't you like to know." 

She made a face. She knew some kids who didn't like their real names and never even told their friends what they were. She figured it was like that in every place. 

"I don't know enough about really anyone here to know the way they think," she started slowly. "Or the way they usually act. But it seems to me like you people just have a lot on your minds right now. Am I right, or do you just always kind of...how should I say, um, ignore people like this? Not so much...but...." 

She trailed off as he stopped walking and looked back at her. "It would be much easier to talk to you if, yes, I had less on my mind and I had gotten up earlier than I did. So, can I let myself wake up and then have another try at a 'first impression'?" 

April smiled. "Yes, good idea. I agree." If it were an anime, she thought, she would have been sweatdropping. 

They started to walk again as April began to wonder if she seemed as annoying as this when she hadn't had enough sleep. 

*** 

April had made up her mind that a lack of sleep and a lack of food caused the human, er...Hylian brain to believe that it had nothing else to say besides the exact point. It figured that it didn't have a reason to skip around anything. She wondered sometimes if someone's mind could get annoyed with itself, because she knew when she was tired that she got bored of the way her brain worked, and if anyone asked her anything she just wished to tell them what it was and then tell them to shut up. 

Lately, it seemed, her mind liked to wander around on its own without her consent. She had somewhat been trying to pay attention to what Vaiya and Sheik were saying as they sat around the table in Impa's house. But she couldn't help wonder at the change both two went through in the presence of food. She remembered something she'd heard in some book from her classes that one of people's greatest weaknesses seemed to be the need to fill their stomachs. 

After all this, she tried to make sense of anything that had happened to her recently. None of it seemed to follow any kind of pattern. The only thing she was conclude from her past several minutes of thinking was the she would hopefully be able to get to know both Vaiya and Sheik better in the near future. Which she thought was odd because she usually didn't like to give people more than one chance when she got to know them. 

She then finally decided that her mind had now fully and truly checked out. 

"Zelda," she heard someone mutter. 

"Eh?" she mumbled as she looked towards the two. 

"Have you been paying attention to anything she's been saying?" Sheik asked, gesturing towards Vaiya. 

"...Not so much..." she admitted. 

Vaiya sighed. 

"All really I was attempting to get across was that there are people here who will be able to help get you used to combat type situations and using magic. And helping you with understanding the Triforce you carry." 

April's eyes widened a bit at saying this. Did everyone seem to know about her having the Triforce? Was it okay to just go telling everyone? 

"Don't worry about the people who know of your Triforce, Zelda." Sheik told her. "I knew from Vaiya telling me about it, when both she and I had seen it in a dream. Now the Elders know, so does Impa. She's seemed kind of confused as to why she didn't know already, though..." 

"Well," April muttered. "It seems that I didn't exactly really tell anyone about that so...um..." 

"It's of no importance now." Vaiya stood up from the table and turned towards the stairs. She continued to talk, though, as she climbed them. "What I really want to know, however, is where this came from." 

"What is she talking about?" Sheik asked. 

April had a feeling that Vaiya was talking about the book. With a panic, she tried to remember if she had even brought it to this place. She knew she had it at Lon Lon Ranch, and when they were in the Shadow Temple... 

"This," Vaiya suddenly said from the stairs, hold the heavy volume under her arm. She walked to the table and dropped it carelessly. It fell open to the first page, one of the few with writing on it. 

"Oh, that." April nearly spat out, reading over the Legend she knew so well. "I found it in Hyrule Castle's library. I really don't know what's the point of it though, I mean, more that half of the pages are blank..." 

April trailed off as Vaiya flipped through the pages quickly, noting the oddly great amount of words there. Another odd thing that April hadn't noticed a moment before was that they were no longer in the ancient Hylian dialect she remembered, but written in what she understood to be some Sheikah language. 

"Doesn't look to me like the pages are very blank." Sheik mumbled. 

"I swear that book is possessed." April deadpanned. 

Vaiya looked at her, amused. "Really, now?" She suddenly slammed the book shut, which April was almost glad of. "From what I can tell, it's the same book that used to reside in a library here, composed of writings, prophecies and spells of past Sheikah generations, the most notable author being the Seer from whom my name comes." She seemed to stop to think for a moment. "I don't know how it ended up in Hyrule, but stranger things have happened." 

"Tell me about it." April rolled her eyes. She couldn't help be curious, though, as she pulled the heavy volume closer to her. She opened it to the first page, which held the Legend written in ancient Hylian. The next page, however, which had before held the warning to her and Malon, was not longer there. That page was full of writings in a Sheikah language she recognized through the Triforce. She again turned through the pages, seeing them all written in it, as well. She shook her head. 

"There used to be, after the passage on the first page, about six pages full of writing and a few pictures, and the language was an ancient Hylian one. But now," she paused, glancing at the flowing letters on the pages. "There's only this. There used to be a warning on there...for me that ended up with me and my friend floating in thin air." 

Vaiya considered this. "It might have just been there for that purpose and then somehow disappeared when the proper writings appeared in the book." 

"Oh, you make it sound so simple..." April said, putting her head on the table. 

"Most likely," Vaiya continued. "It was a spell that was used to get you "floating in thin air." Though I don't know how you could have activated it without knowing how to do magic..." She shrugged slightly. 

"Though it seems like soon I might. I think that book, the possessed thing, really found me because in some way what has happened was already known. And now there is stuff in it relating to what I'm supposed to be learning here, or so I think." 

"That seems right." She nodded, then looked over at Sheik. "You've been relatively quiet." 

"I'm just thinking about how long she is going to have to actually learn all of this stuff." 

"Seven years," April and Vaiya responded at the same time, automatically. 

He glanced at the two of them. "Right...But when it's over, will any of us actually be able to do anything about the future of Hyrule?" 

"Somebody already is," April uttered, as if she almost hadn't meant to say it. "In some way or another." 

Vaiya recognized the look in the girl's eyes immediately from her own experience. "You're having the feeling of Time happening all at once." The Princess looked up at her. "And you fell helpless about it. Anyone would, given what burden you have. And how attached you seem to be to the Hero of Time." She bit her tongue slightly. "Anyway, I see no reason why we should waste time. Tomorrow, let's begin the training. The less you think about things you can't control, and the more about things you can, that helpless feeling will all but disappear." She got up from the table, again. "Do what you want for today. In the morning, be prepared to work." She left the room and April heard the door shut lightly. 

She looked at the wall to where the door had been as if she could see through it. She hadn't really even been aware of the helpless feeling Vaiya was talking about, but now that someone mentioned it to her she could feel it clearly. She suddenly wanted to do something, anything that wasn't just sitting and waiting for seven years to pass. 

"Seems like a lot to think about," she heard Sheik say. 

She sighed, and looked toward him. 

"I agree." 

"I'm really not much good for these kinds of conversations," he admitted. "But eventually I know you're probably going to need help, and almost anyone here would be willing to give it." 

She half smiled. "That's nice to know." 

*** 

**Yes, the mood of this story has most definitely changed. I'm trying here, though. *sigh* Is anyone confused? I am. Ehehee....No really, if anyone is confused, tell me. I might have to go back in the story and change a few things. Most likely not much, but I'm going to have to see with what's coming up in the story. Okay, so, I'm sorry for the lack of updates! And thanks for reading, and please review!! I will HOPEFULLY be updating soon! ^_^() 

Bye-bye!  
SailorZelda 


	18. Field Trip

** My computer hates me. It has kicked me off line multiple times and left me nothing to do but update my stories for you guys. (Well, I could be working on my freaking Julius Caesar project...Meh, yeeeeah....) So, ehe. Here is a new chapter. Getting a bit back to humor in this chapter. The genre is in limbo land, so I couldn't really care, anyway. This story I will try to end as soon as possible, since my main focus has been lost, and the end was near anyway. P.S. - Did you guys forget that I exist? Not that I blame you...^_^() 

*** 

It had been two years. A whole two years which April had spend in Zelda's body, learning the ancient art of Sheikah combat from Impa, Vaiya and others. She learned something about the area of "solid" air that she and Malon had stood on, too. Actually, it wasn't very much different from some of the invisible things in the shadow realm that could only be seen with the Eye of Truth. The magic that had occurred had been done almost automatically from the energy which the ancient Seer helped her obtain. Magic, too, was something she learned a great deal about. 

It had started with the Book, which April knew would be coming into use at some point. The ancient Seer that shared the present Seer's name still commented throughout the book, mostly referring to Zelda and things she needed to do. April found it annoying at some points, because her tone was entirely too much like Vaiya's. Vaiya had become sort of like a older sister to April. The protecting bit, and then the bossing around, too. Her nickname for her had become ajitu, which April knew through the Triforce was the Sheikah word for pip-squeak. It refereed mostly to the fact that Zelda was pretty much useless in the area of physical strength against most, though should could defend herself if need be, and also the fact that she was now twelve (and a half, April would insist) and she hadn't grown an inch from when she first arrived at the village. Her face had changed, and she actually did start to look more like the adult version of herself. Her hair darkened a few shades, as well, which left her very confused as the adult Zelda in the game was practically platinum blonde. 

She also had another visit from Nayru one night, and she had helped her learn a bit more about controlling the power of the Triforce. Apparently she would be needing it when the last battle came between Ganondorf and the Sages and Hero of Time. Also speaking of the Triforce, Vaiya had told the Elders about the breaking of the Triforce that had come true, right out of their legend. They reacted surprisingly well to the idea that a little girl possessed a third of the power it had taken for the goddesses to build Hyrule from scratch. 

The Triforce also helped April in gaining a new skill. This was the equivalent of a mind conversation. With certain people who were sensitive to it, like Impa or Vaiya, she could communicate on another level without needing words. The thoughts sometimes came out very abstract at first, but she had started to perfect the technique through time. 

At this point, April was getting restless, however. She wanted to visit Hyrule again, because a part of her soul was attached do it and it affected her metaphysical state. Surprisingly, Vaiya helped her win the argument she had with Impa over whether she could exit the realm and go to Kakariko for some 'shopping.' The condition was that Vaiya would go with her. Impa knew that Vaiya would protect the Princess with her life, though April knew she might try to get in her way of doing anything but looking in shops, including talking to people. Surprisingly, though, she didn't mind that so much. 

*** 

April made her way carefully through the Kakariko market, thanking Nayru and her gift of cunning to Hylian kind. She never would have gotten Impa or Vaiya to agree to this without it. Even if she had to wear this cloak that was too big for her with a hood that hid her hair and most of her face, it was better than not being able to go at all. 

It was extremely nice to be able to get out of that secluded little dimension. In it, she did feel somewhat at home, but usually she felt...isolated. Cut off from the land she was supposed to be helping. She knew the things they were doing actually were helping Hyrule to an extent, but she couldn't help feeling guilty about staying there, as odd as it felt to say it, in the past, while Link battled it out in their future. Guilt was a terrible feeling, and it haunted her during the night when she had no training to distract her mind. 

She grumbled a bit as she shifted the heavy skin shopping bag from her left to her right shoulder. Now, it had only half of the things she needed, yet she was already beginning to feel as if her arm was going to fall off. She sighed under her breath. Now, she had to go visit the creepy lady in the potion shop. Then, she had to go to that new armory ...Vaiya would have to assist her in there, as they would never let a child like her buy heavy, expensive, and dangerous things such as weapons. 

_'Zelda.'_

__The sudden though entered her mind, cutting off her train of thought and nearly causing her to drop her bag. _Speak of the devil..._she thought. 

_'What was that?'_

April smacked her forehead. She really needed to perfect the skill of keeping her private thoughts from these mind conversations. 

_'Nothing...What did you need, Vaiya?'_

_'Are you ready to go into the armory yet?'_

April shrugged the bag higher onto her shoulder. _'No, but I will be in a minute. I wanted to go to the potion shop first.'_

_'So you can break the glass bottles when you try to put in the metal objects. Yes, I see the logic.'_

_Actually because I'm nearly standing right in front of it...but yeah...._

_'That logic works, too, I suppose. As long as you get a different bag for the potions.'_

April didn't bother smacking her forehead. 

_'So, yeah. I'm heading over to the armory now, then.'_

_'I can see that, _ajitu_. I'm watching you, you know, and I'm not blind.'_

_'Then why'd you ask me where I was going in the first place!?'_

_'I'm not very familiar with the layout of this village, and I can't read your mind.'_

_Even though our city is a lot like this and you can understand perfectly what I'm thinking on my own most of the time._

_'There's no need for sarcasm, Zel. Okay, perhaps I can usually read your mind...'_

_'Because you're a seer, I know!!'_ she mentally screamed, exasperated. She couldn't even escape these people and their antics when she had an escape in body. 

She could feel Vaiya's surprise, though. '_...See you in a moment, I suppose.'_

_Din_, April heard her mutter as the connection was broken. 

She rolled her eyes and changed direction in the way of the armory. It was more towards the entrance to Kakariko than the potion shop, and so it wouldn't be difficult to find even with the midday crowd, the many streets, and carts who weren't looking for small children. She tried to remember what it was that Sheik has asked her to get as she jumped out of the way of one such cart. Though she might not remember now, she though, she'd know probably when she saw it. 

The crowd slowly but surely began to thin out. She was glad, and finally began to feel less claustrophobic. The relief seemed to get to her head too soon, though, as she felt herself being knocked out of the way. Quite violently, really. 

She squeaked as she hit the ground, unexpected as her fall was, and began to turn around to see who it was that had pushed her. She was about to shout something not quite Princess-like at the large man, not really caring at the moment if Vaiya heard her or not, when she suddenly heard another voice over her own thoughts. 

"Hey. You don't need to go around knocking people out of your way." 

_This is an oddly familiar voice,_ April thought. 

"The whole road is practically open. It's not as if you have nowhere else to walk." 

The words were obviously aimed at the person who had knocked her over. April strained to hear the voice further, though the sides of her cloak muffled the sound slightly despite her sharp hearing. 

"P'sh, and whaddya gonna do 'bout it?" a different voice, the other man obviously, answered. 

"You _could_ apologize to this girl," the familiar voice said in a seemingly harmless tone. Though, April heard under it a deadly quality like that of a hidden blade. The way the 'could' had been accented even felt to her somewhat like cold steel. 

She heard the large man shift and turn away, deciding it not worth the trouble. He mumbled some kind of apology as the lumbered off towards the crowd of people. She felt the owner of the voice, an oddly familiar presence, start to walk towards her as they made an annoyed sound. 

"Some people can be so rude. Need a hand?" 

The familiar voice stopped in front of her. She unconsciously pulled the mask under her hood farther up on her face as she glanced out of it to see who it was. Time froze and her heart stood still. 

She saw the boots, first. Familiar ones, though she had seen ones like these several times. Craning her neck upwards in a painfully slow way, to her at least, she saw at first just a shade of forest green. It revealed itself to be a tunic. She the noticed a sword she knew she had seen before. __

_It's impossible, I know it's impossible.....!! _

__If it was possible, time seemed to stop even more as her mind dared to her look at this person's face. 

When she did, she saw the eyes. They were a brilliant shade of blue. Like water, and the crystal blue color she had come to associate with Time. 

Needless to say, this was Link. 

Her mind spun with disbelief, her heart seemed to soar and fall to the pit of her stomach at once, and she suddenly felt very dizzy. She wanted to run, or scream, or cry, but she wasn't sure which. She wanted to disappear, or to get up and embrace him to make sure he was real. 

Unfortunately, she could do none of these. 

The frozen second in time collapsed, and April knew that though it felt like a long time for her, she wouldn't look suspicious when she answered him now. 

"Yes, please," she said, disguising her voice with the Sheikah accent she had heard Vaiya use. 

He reached a hand out to her as she attempted to keep herself from staring at his face. When she was again on her feet, she attempted to dust herself off and again adjust the hood without looking conspicuous. The last thing she wanted to do was to be recognized. It wasn't as if she had heard enough horror stories about what would happen to her if someone found out about her identity who wasn't in the er..._other_ Kakariko. And if Ganondorf found out about her. 

Plus, she didn't know how Link would react to her. Apparently, he wasn't supposed to see her until the seven year period was over. She didn't even know how he and Princess Zelda were supposed to meet. She had tried imagining the scene in her head, but it never seemed to want to cooperate with her. And the thing she secretly dreaded was that he would be angry at her for what had happened. She didn't think she'd be able to live with herself anymore if she knew that. 

She figured that he was in Kakariko to get the Lends of Truth, which she recalled getting from the game as a child. She didn't know how Time worked in relation to how far he went back, such as if it had been two years that it took to complete the quest from when he first arrived in the future. She secretly hoped that wasn't the case, because she didn't want to have to wait that long to see Ganondorf dead and his reign ended. As it was, she had a feeling that he had seen a lot as an adult in Hyrule's future. 

"That seems to be quite the internal monologue you've got going there," Link said, seemingly on the verge of laughing. 

She blushed suddenly, realizing that she was still holding onto his hand. She had obviously been spacing out again, and this time...Time didn't seem to want to let her. Then she suddenly hoped that he was joking and didn't really know what she was thinking. 

"I'm sorry!" she squeaked, trying to keep the accent and keep from laughing or something of the sort. 

"That's fine," Link said, smiling a smile that she could avoid looking at. She felt like a puppet. A really stupid puppet that had no control over its own actions. "Have I seen you somewhere before?" he asked after a moment. 

April looked up at him again, in a resolve not to let him know who she was. "No, we have not. You never knew me." She added that last part under her breath. 

"Funny...I could have sworn..." 

_'Her eyes look exactly like Sheik's, that's why. Despite the color...' _ He thought to himself. 

"Maybe we've met in a previous life," April added with a note of humor. 

"Maybe..." 

"Well, I've got to get going," she said, painfully though it felt to her. "Thank you, again." 

With that, she turned on her heel, though not without a last glance at his face, and left him. She headed to where she was going to meet Vaiya, though something made her want to walk slower. The rest of her stay in Hyrule went by in a blur for her, though she tried to enjoy it. She knew it would probably be years again before she was allowed to come to this land that had somehow become a part of her. 


	19. Shouldn't Have Bothered

**Hi? This is another chapter of this story. It's back again. Ehehe....yeah. I'm sorry for the really random and irregular updates. But this story will be moving along now, I think. It's getting pretty close to the end. (GASP, I know...) I'm not going to go through and do detail's of Zelda's time during the seven years but for a few chapters with good idea's I've been having. Because I know that it would take way too long. And basically all she's doing is preparing to go against Ganon and guide Link and stuff. Oh, and probably learning how to be Queen. Because when Ganon dies Hyrule will need a ruler right? Plus, remember, her parents kicked the bucket, so.... Eheh. Here's the chapter. 

*** 

She'd told herself that this was a stupid idea from the beginning. But after another year of being practically alone in the other Kakariko, she was just about ready to die. 

The problem that presented itself was her so-called guardians. She knew that they did not want to let her go again, because Vaiya had sensed something fishy from April when they had met up the last time. Sure, they might have trusted the Princess to an extent, but they were not ready to risk the only heir of Hyrule just because in her moody, teenage state she was getting bored with life in general. 

April insisted that that was not the case, and that she was just worried about her kingdom. She still felt like she was doing nothing, just training for whenever the Hero of Time would arise again. But, from their current time, that wasn't going to be for another four years or so. 

In that year since she had been to Hyrule, she had learned just how to control the spell that she and Malon had inadvertently used three years ago. The ancient seer had used her energy to get them to be able to use the spell, and when April tried it for the first time she discovered that it took much more energy than she thought it would to keep the thing from collapsing under any sort of weight. She had almost mastered it, though, and so was able to use it at her convenience. 

Also, in the three years since she had been in the Shadow dimension, she had put two and two together and figured out that the Sheik in the game was probably Zelda, just disguised as her alter self for protection against Ganondorf. She was learning so many things that would be useful if that were the case, that she had almost taken for granted the fact that she was the one who was going to assist the Hero of Time in finally defeating the evil King of the Gerudo. 

She thought that the changing of air spell would be useful when one of those smoke bombs were used, to let Sheik "disappear." This gave her the idea that it could be used to sneak around Hyrule without being seen. Of course, it would have to be used carefully if Ganondorf's minions was actually smart enough to look up. She knew using the spell during the day would be a bad idea, but during the night it could be very effective. 

So, cue April running/crawling on a pathway above Hyrule field, half past midnight and heading towards Lon Lon Ranch. It had not been fun to go through the Shadow Temple by herself. Last time she had had Vaiya, but this time she'd had to dispose of a few of the demented bats and the random living skeletons herself, leaving her feeling that she would be mentally scared for life. 

She wore a disguise similar to the one she'd worn the last time she was in Hyrule. This was not the same one, though, as she had finally started to grow and didn't fit into the other one. She was an inch or so shorter than Vaiya, now. She hoped soon she'd be taller than her, because then her "older sister" wouldn't be able to use her nickname for her anymore. 

With these thoughts of her home, she also felt her heart race slightly. None of them (she hoped) knew she was here, and her plan was that she would be able to get back before any of them woke up. It was around midnight when she reached the ranch, and she gave herself about three hours to get back, which meant she could have two hours or so at the ranch. 

While using this spell in the past, she had learned not to look down. But traveling for hours in scenery that look practically the same as everywhere else made April almost unaware of the fact that she was five hundred feet in the air. 

After a few hours, though, she reached the end of the straight path and felt some invisible "stairs." She remembered putting these into the design of the platform of air when she was preparing the spell. But the problem was getting down them. She was not known for her ability to go for long distances down difficult terrain without tripping, and she did not want to plummet down these stairs and most likely crush every bone in her body. 

So, feeling quite foolish, the princess carefully made her way down the stairs, occasionally having to sit after feeling like she was going to tumble down the stairs headfirst. 

She finally reached the ground, and was incredibly happy to have something truly solid under her feet. The spell would stay while she was gone, until she called it off, but since there was nobody on it, she felt safe about leaving it. 

Sneaking into the entrance of the ranch, at the same time praying that Malon was there still, she pulled the hood over her head and walked towards the corral. 

As she approached it, she hear a very faint sound, almost like someone was singing... 

She abruptly stopped walking halfway to the fence, staring at the figure at its center. It was a girl, about her age, dressed in white and with fiery red hair. And this girl had seen her. 

But she didn't care in the slightest. 'Stupid girl,' she thought. 'What's she doing awake at this hour?' But beyond that she was just glad that Malon was, well... alive. 

"Who's that?" the redhead called, her song finished. "The ranch is closed now, and Ingo will be mad if you wake him." 

She decided not to answer, and instead walked towards the entrance of the gate and the girl there. 

"And if you work for Ganondorf," Malon added hastily when she saw that the figure was not leaving. "I've told you before that Epona in not for sale!" 

'Even if Ingo plans to give her to the monster when she's a bit more "trained up"....' the ranch girl thought with a note of hopelessness. 

"What if I told you I'm not from around here, but I came to see an old friend... One who might not remember me?" April asked in a quieter tone when she was closer to Malon. At this point she let the hood fall back... 

*** 

***Okay, I know that was a really sadistic, short little teaser of a chapter, but I wanted to update. So ha. ;P You can look for updates soon, they should be here by the time of around.... next week............... maybe....................... . . .. . 


	20. Soul's Visit

***Heeeeey, another update. I decided that this had been sitting and rotting long enough. Read, I had fun writing this one.... *laughs evilly* Even though I should be studying for my Spanish final.... I hope this shows how much I love you guys!! *ehehe...* Don't worry if the beginning of this chapter confuses you... Just keep reading, and it will make sense. 

*** 

_I hadn't wanted to die. Not really._

_I just... wanted an escape, I guess._

_Because it was all too much for me at first. I mean, this was something that I knew was improbable, impossible, and.... Dammit, why did it happen to me!?_

_But then I thought back and noted that this was something I had wanted. This was something I had always wanted, deep down, right? I think that was the point when the last straw snapped. The fact that I had wanted that, or at least something like it. Something more than a boring life of the same routine, every day, for the rest of eternity? Yeah, that sounded good._

_But then I took a look at the adventure I got. Something incredible, invaluable, and a miracle really if I knew how to look at it. I didn't. At the point when I realized what I had, I also came to the conclusion that I didn't want it. And if I ever had... Not anymore. _

_I wasn't worthy of it._

_Sarcastic, semi-sane, smotheringly annoying girl, a child. And now this? This... what is this anyway?_

_She told me it wasn't a game. The older version of "myself." Destiny... is definitely not a game. If I had ever thought it was, the last years have most certainly changed my mind. _

_The other one, the wise goddess whose name I won't mention, had said something to the effect of 'I was capable.' _

_Capable?_

_Able to complete the task set before me for heaven knows what reason? Probably. Willing? After what had happened by that point in time... after the attempt, sure. I mean, why not? I'm only controlling the fate of a world, here. I hope one can sense my sarcasm._

_At first. That first time... when I realized everything was happening to me at once. Not then, I hadn't been willing then. I would have thrown it away. With steel and a flick of my wrist, I easily could have. I would have thrown the fate of this world that has become my own into the garbage disposal, laughing and joking about it the whole way! At the same time, praying to wake up. Wake up from the nightmare, the dream that was and still is real. Something that shouldn't exist, but does._

_Three years ago, I would have... could have destroyed myself and probably everything related to this world that isn't evil._

_When diving towards your heart, a dagger really isn't so forgiving._

_I was lucky that a certain redheaded ranch girl was. Because I hadn't wanted to admit defeat, to lose... to die. Not really._

Sheik put the book down, thinking that this idea really hadn't been so clever. He'd seen things that no one had been meant to see, and now he almost regretted it. 

When he had woken up during the night, in Vaiya's house because he had taken to sometimes staying there during the night to annoy the heck out of Zelda when she woke up, he had found Zelda missing. Which was odd, because the girl usually slept like a rock. She wasn't anywhere to be found in the house, and he did not think that the girl would be outside on a night as snowy and cold as this one. 

When he climbed the stairs after checking the windows, anyway, he came across Zelda's room. He walked by it again, noting the door was open just a bit, as it had been when he'd first noticed she was missing from her bed. For some reason, the princess always slept with the door open, as if she was afraid of something taking her in the night. Maybe she really was, he didn't know how the crazy girl's mind worked. But, when he did happen to be awake at odd hours of the night, it was peaceful to pass by her door and see her just sleeping. Eyes closed and body relaxed, instead of alert, defensive and screaming like she usually was. 

But she hadn't been there that night. And it had been all too tempting when he'd seen the book lying on her bed. Not the Book, of course, that was stored safely downstairs to be used for her training purposes. A blank book that Vaiya had given her for her last birthday, Zelda seemed to enjoy scribbling things in it every chance she got. Without really realizing he had done it, he walked into her room and opened the book. 

He saw poetic things he hadn't even thought the girl capable of thinking, let alone writing. He didn't really pay attention to the words until he reached a page with the heading 'savior.' He recalled her saying, babbling late-night nonsense in years past, that a girl called Malon had been her savior, once. (Though now, he assumed, the Hero of Time was her savior, the only think keeping her sane. It was obvious to most who knew her that she harbored a love for him that even she wasn't fully aware of.) He'd been curious about the ranch girl, and read the page without thinking. 

Finding this about Zelda, he thought it might be difficult to look at her in the same way again. He had been aware that her quest to save Hyrule had bothered her from the beginning, but he didn't think that the princess had taken it to such an extreme. And even though many of the things in those short paragraphs didn't make much sense to him, he was sure that they were the writings of her very soul. 

And he found that he was now as grateful for this anonymous redhead as Zelda had been those years ago. 

His reason, beside the obvious of saving the girl who would eventually save Hyrule, was obscure even to him. Though he and the princess were at each other's throats most of the time, annoying and teasing, he felt a certain attachment to the girl that he couldn't quite place. It made sense in a way because the two were basically mirrors of each other in spirit, but otherwise... The feeling wasn't familiar to him. 

Now, though, after having read those words, he decided that he was going to wait until she came back from... wherever it was she had gone. He went down to the kitchen, sat at the table, and waited. 

*** 

"I can't believe it took you so long to come and see me," Malon deadpanned after the two girls had finished crying and hugging. 

April blinked, almost surprised by the statement. "You are aware that I'm supposed to help _save the world_, right?" 

Malon smiled. "Yeah, but you shoulda found time to come visit." 

Both girls knew that the other was teasing, of course. April had told Malon of the things she had done during the time they hadn't seen each other, though she wasn't able to say everything about the mirror dimension, and Malon had filled April in on some of the details of the happenings at the ranch. Apparently, Ingo had taken it over already, having sworn loyalty to Ganondorf. Her dad had been kicked out of the ranch, and had gone to Kakariko just over a month ago. Ingo had kept Malon at the ranch, however, because he insisted that she was the only "useful one." April had felt sick when Malon had told her this. 

However, she knew that Malon was a strong person. She was capable of surviving hard times, probably more so than the 'princess' herself was. She had, though, offered to remove Ingo still-beating heart if he'd done anything to harm her. Malon insisted that she just worked a bit harder than she used to, and that she had to stay at the ranch anyway to protect the horses in any way she could. 

"You got tall, though!" April noticed, having nothing much else to say. 

"Three years will do that to ya." 

There was a semi-comfortable silence as April prepared to ask the question she had been dreading. 

"So how's Hyrule doing?" 

Malon immediately bit her bottom lip and looked at the ground, which was now covered in a light layer of snow. 

"Do you wanna hear the good or the bad?" 

"Um, bad first. That's always best..." April said hesitantly. 

"Well, monsters have been invading Hyrule Field, as I'm sure you've noticed. A lot of people are going nuts and swearing loyalty to Ganondorf. The Gerudo stormed the castle, but that was a few years ago, and I think you were still here when the raid was going on. Oh, and the market is slowly yet steadily turning into a ghost town. Redeads are popping up in the most depressing and abandoned places." 

"Anything else?" April said, almost marginally surprised by the large amount of negative things Malon had to say. 

"Hm... Not really. Oh, it's been raining a lot... Ever since Link left things have been real desolate..." Malon shrugged slightly as if to signify that she had nothing further to add. 

"So, what's the good news?" April asked hopefully. 

Malon wavered, looking up at the sky. "Actually, there is none." 

April blinked. 'And so it begins...' a voice in the back of her mind muttered. 

*** 

Meanwhile, in a secluded forest apart from the places most people were aware of, a small globe of light flitted across a meadow and toward a hollow log. She had a dire message for a certain blonde Princess, whom she had just sensed enter the realm of Hyrule... 

*** 

*** Eh? My plot is moving along!? ...... Yeah, it actually is. There's going to be a six or seven chapter little mini series type thingie *coughthatinvolvessixcertainindividualsyouarefamiliarwithcough* then we will get to see the end of the seven years in about one chapter after that! So, since summer is almost here, you can expect this story to be done by the end of July, beginning of August. Okay? ^_^ Thanks for reading, and have a nice day! 

PS: Hey, is there anyone out there who has a livejournal? Is there anyone kind enough who could give me one of those activation code things? I'd really appreciate that! 

So, please review! You know you wanna!!! 

~SailorZelda 


	21. Mori's Visit

*** Saa, here's the new chapter. I have nothing interesting to say, because it's SUMMER!!!!!!! 

*** 

April was not happy to leave the ranch, but she knew that if she intended to keep her to schedule, she would need to leave. Malon was not happy, either, claiming that the Princess was "abandoning" her, again. Still, she and the blonde both knew that there would likely be hell to pay if Zelda wasn't found in the morning. April already figured that there would be hell to pay, knowing that those she knew in the other Kakariko were very good at 'sensing' people. 

As unhappy as she was about having to depart from Hyrule yet again, it was surprising that she didn't notice the tiny ball of light latch onto the hood of her cloak, and hide inside it. Odd that she didn't notice the very faint glow that came from the orb when she entered the dark domain known as the Shadow Temple. It was even more curious that she did not hear the tiny squeak as the fairy was pulled, through the mirror, into the other Kakariko along with the blonde girl. 

Of course, April was muttering to herself the whole time she was going back, so noticing anything but whatever unlucky thing her glare was fixed on was basically out of the question. 

Having landed on the other side of the mirror, April dusted herself off and turned to look back at said mirror. She stuck her tongue out at her red-eyed, royally dressed reflection and stalked out of the cabin in which had started her ordeal three years ago. She shut the door quietly, though, for fear of waking up anyone who happened to be near. 

She resumed her march as she crossed the snow covered ground towards Impa's house. It had been her home for three years, one of the only comfort in this dimension other than the people. She missed the Hyrule landscape, but having spent so much time in training, she had grown used to the home Vaiya had made of the decently sized, cabin styled home. 

April smiled remember some of the things that had happened there. Vaiya had been like a big sister to her, good and bad ways included. Sometime it made her sick for her own older sister, but she always tried to push thoughts like these out of her mind. Though, she was unusually nostalgic about the "real" world lately, as she had again reached the age of thirteen. 

She also thought of the role that Impa and Sheik had taken in her life. Impa was almost like a mother, but more like a mentor and friend. She felt comfortable around the tall Sheikah woman, and was able to confess most of her dark secrets to her, even though some things had to be left unmentioned. And then there was Sheik. Sheik was... something that she had no single term for. Sometimes, he was like a little brother, annoying and someone she wished would pop off the face of the world. At other times, there was nobody she would rather be around than him. He could be oddly comforting in his sarcastic, vaguely empathetic nature. At those times, he was like a best friend. Or maybe something more, seeing as they were basically related by soul. Not quite soul-mates, as she was sure that privilege belonged to the Hero of Time. 

Still spacing slightly, she opened the door and shut it again quickly to keep the cold air out of the house. The small orb was still chattering away in her hood, from the cold and partly from the fact that the tiny girl was sleep deprived. 

April stepped into the house, not bothering to take off the cloak. Despite the fact that it was dampened with snow, she wanted to keep it upstairs in her room. This was partly due to the fact that she liked to have a "jacket" of some sort on hand, and more due to the fact that she didn't want anyone suspecting her of late night departure. 

What she hadn't counted on, however, was the figure that ran into her head on as she approached the kitchen staircase. 

April muttered something unintelligible and probably vicious as she grabbed her head and backed away. She opened one eye, annoyed, to get a better view of whatever or whoever it was. 

"Good evening to you, too," said the figure somewhat painfully, whom she now identified to be Sheik. 

She sighed heavily, half relieved that he wasn't someone else and yet still afraid of what he might think she had been doing in a wet cloak at ungodly hours of the night. 

"Um..." was all she could manage, as she rubbed her head at the now forming bump. 

"So where have you been?" he said, always straight to the point. 

She rolled her eyes. "Why?" 

"I've been sitting here for the last hour or so, and you weren't here. I heard the door open, and now you are here. So you were somewhere. Where was it?" He said this as he sat at the kitchen table. 

"Damn your deductive reasoning," she said with a half smile, hoping that she would sound lighthearted enough that the subject would drop. However, this was not going to work to her advantage. 

April looked down at him, and sighed as she saw his expression. "You look rather discombobulated." 

He stared at her, eyes slowly rising to meet hers. "I wouldn't even have thought you would have known what that word meant. Let alone that you could use it in a sentence." 

She simply stuck her tongue out and sat down at the table, across from him. 

"Can you be serious for half a minute?" Sheik asked her. 

"Can you?" the princess countered. 

It was Sheik's turn to sigh. "I felt a disturbance a minute or so before you came back. I can think of only one thing that would have caused it; that you were in Hyrule and came back through the Mirror." 

April let her head fall to the tabletop, feebly observing the dull 'thunk' that it made, muttering "I guess you can."  
"So? Is that true?" 

"Yeah," April acknowledged, somewhat exasperated, not bothering to lift her head. She knew now that she was doomed anyway, so she didn't see the point in any extra effort. 

"Why would you do something stupid like that all by yourself!?" he asked, in a voice that was somewhere between irritated and worried. "You know what could have happened." The last bit was added in a softer voice, as he attempted to meet her eyes. 

"But it didn't." This time she did lift her head. There was an odd fire in her eyes that Sheik had never seen there before. " I had to see... I had to see my friend. I didn't think..." 

"That much is obvious." 

She glared at him for a moment. "I did not think that I could stand to 'help' indirectly for another minute. But now I've done what I intended, and didn't get myself or anyone else hurt. And now you, Vaiya and Impa are going to flip out and I'm going to be in a mess of trouble, but I'll have you know that it _was _worth it." 

April let a slow, smug smile pass when she saw that Sheik didn't have anything to say to that. 

Then again, it is rather difficult to find many things to say when a small, glowing woman presents herself between one and one's friend. 

Coherent, that is. 

April squeaked and covered her mouth with her hands. Sheik backed away from the table without a second thought, almost knocking over the chair. 

The fairy stood on the tabletop, with eyes alert and hands on hips, maintain a devilish smile as she saw the two reactions to her presence. She was lightly green in color, but the light made her appear more whitish yellow. Her hair was a darker shade of green, and went down to the tabletop. She was scantily dressed, but details were hard to discern and April supposed that fairy's didn't require much in the way of clothing, as they were creatures of nature. 

"Hiya!" the fairy beamed. 

April blinked. 

"Not as talkative as you were a second ago, are you?" The tiny woman giggled. 

"Uh..." Sheik managed. 

"How did you get here?" April asked. 

The fairy spun around toward the blonde. "I followed you, silly." 

"... And why?" she asked. 

The fairy suddenly became serious, solemn. Her eyes became half lidded, as if she were suddenly not there at all. "The Sage of the Forest is in danger." 

Two pairs of eyes widened at that statement. 

"What happened to Saria?" April asked without a second thought. 

Without seeming to pay much mind to the princess, the fairy began to hover slowly from the tabletop. "It has begun. The forces of evil have taken their first step." She turned pointedly to April, as she already seemed to know what was going on. "Without the Hero of Time, the Sages are in a dire situation. There is no one that can save them from the Gerudo King and his black magic without him. No one."  
"Then why bother saying this? I think we knew that much already," Sheik interjected. 

The fairy met his gaze with questioning eyes. "You wanna hear this, or not?" 

April snorted unintentionally. 

The tiny woman continued. "No one, that is, except the Seventh Sage. You, Zelda." 

The Princess's head fell to the side slightly. Not from the surprise that she had been told she was the Seventh Sage, but from the surprise that she had already _known_. She silently asked Nayru why she hadn't outright "known" this before, seeing that most of her knowledge of important destiny-related things came from the Triforce. All she got was a small voice in the back of her mind which said something sarcastically to the effect of "I cannot be responsible for everything, can I?" 

The fairy smirked. "So, how about it? You just said you were sick of helping "indirectly." So, help." 

"Can I pause for a moment?" Sheik asked. 

The fairy stepped back, holding out her hand as if inviting him to speak. 

"Zelda, you are the Seventh Sage?" But it was more a statement than a question. 

She blinked, looking toward him. "Apparently." 

"But you knew that already," he said, glaring slightly. 

"Hey, I can't help this stupid Triforce junk all the time," the girl muttered. 

"Sooooo," the fairy interrupted. "You ready?" 

"Eh?" was the double response. 

The fairy stared, slowly and deliberately rolling her eyes. "To help the Sages, you dimwit." She sighed a bit, almost disillusioned, it seemed. "Saria is in danger, indeed. But not directly, as of yet..." She looked up, large eyes practically screaming for pity. "Something's going to happen to them all, you know. The Sages. Before the Hero awakens, evil will darken their Temples, blocking the light of a Sage's call. Rauru has already tried to reach Saria, but has been unsuccessful as of yet. You can't do much in the way of awakening them, of course, but you can protect them." 

"Rauru is the Sage of Light, correct?" Sheik asked, almost offhandedly. 

"Yeah," April answered without much though. 

"Protect the Temples, I mean," the fairy continued. "A seal can be placed on them, but you are needed to perform it. This will keep the Evil from completely overtaking the Sages or their Temples until the Hero can awaken them fully." 

'So I can actually do something to help Hyrule!' April silently laughed in triumph. 

"The Last Sage and the respective Sage is required for each seal. I'm sure you can handle the rest." 

"I can-" April stared, but was cut off. 

"_You_ cannot do anything. _We _will tell Impa and see what she has to say about your going to Hyrule alone. She'll probably make you drag Vaiya along," Sheik said. 

"This I was aware of," April deadpanned. 

*** 

***Jeeze, that chapter was long... Ahem, long for the tiny wanna-be chapters that I've been putting out, at any rate. So, review? By the way, I have the next chapter done already, but I'm holding it hostage. *pause* REIVEW!!!!! Thank you. 


	22. To Aid A Forest Sage

*** You know the drill. Chapter is here. Be glad. You guys are great, as well... I ask for reviews and I get them. ^__^ 

In response to the questions of M - I left out that detail by choice. You will have to keep reading to find out why I did this evil thing. MWAHAHAHA!! *gets a hold of herself* No, you will get to find out why this is happening, but not for a while. In regards to Link being in Kakariko "during" his seven year sleep... Well... That is one of the ways I explain Time happening all at the same time. See, you learn the Song of Storms in the game when you are an adult from "someone" playing it to him seven years ago, so I used the philosophy of... Basically, anything Link does in the past has already happened when he gets to the future. I'm rambling now, but I tried to make sense. ^_^() 

Enjoy! 

*** 

April had indeed been forced to "drag Vaiya along" on her return trip to Hyrule. Only slightly grudgingly the eighteen year old Seer had agreed to watch over the Princess on what would soon come to be known as Hassle Trips to Hyrule. 

But that is getting a bit ahead of the current situation. 

"I'm really starting to hate the number seven," April muttered as the fairy had explained the rest of the problem with the seals. 

Apparently, magic that strong was not effective if it had not been given the proper amount of time to 'set in.' This meant that each of these seals could only be placed after the previous one had sat for exactly seven weeks. The natural forces and sources of magic in Hyrule seemingly could not take the strain of two seals setting in at one time. This, of course, meant that April was going to have to return to Hyrule once every seven weeks to finish the next seal. 

This had been explained to the Princess, Sheik, Impa and Vaiya as they sat around the same table the reflections had sat at the previous night. The fairy, who they came to know as Saria's fairy, had told them that the sooner they began the better it would be for the Sages in the end. They had all agreed, and April and Vaiya, as well as the fairy who made her seat in April's cloak hood, had set out that very day. 

As the mulled through the Shadow Temple, what would be twice in the last twelve hours for April, the blonde wondered why Sheik hadn't mentioned anything to Impa about her having been in Hyrule the night before. Of course she didn't think he was a tattler or anything, but she would have thought he would have said something to her guardian for 'the sake of her protection or some crap like that,' as April had thought it. 

"You think I didn't know?" Vaiya said suddenly as the gray light of the Kakariko Graveyard assaulted their eyes. 

April faltered, almost tripping. "Know what?" she asked, with a nervous smile. 

"That you left, ajitu. I'm not stupid." 

'Pip-squeak again,' April thought. 

"But why didn't you ask for one of our help? I know you know there could have been danger." 

April stopped outright at this, just as they both landed on the main surface of the graveyard. "Look. I don't feel like blowing up right now, explaining the whole thing, okay? I know you probably are mad, but let's just say that at the moment I don't really care." 

Vaiya smirked, and continued to walk toward the cemetery exit. "Oh, I _know_ why you did it." She laughed slightly. "I just like listening to you embarrass yourself." 

April blinked, following the older girl. "Then... What's this? You don't sound mad..." 

"How can I be mad at someone who takes initiative, however stupid it seems to be? Someone who feels as if they need to do more, that they have been abandoning their friends? I admire that side of your personality, Zelda." 

"Oh," was the only think April could think of to say. 

The scenery of the growing town of Kakariko met their eyes. It was even busier than the last time the two of them had been there. April was sure, now, that the Hyrule Market was emptying and that people were fleeing to the 'safety' of Kakariko. She was glad, however, that at least one place in Hyrule would not become desolate for some time. 

As they passed through the village, April tried to remain inconspicuous as she could. She knew that there might be some who would still recognize the Princess of Hyrule, even if she was currently disguised as a Sheikah. 

A few hours later, with help from a passing mail cart on its way to Lake Hylia, the Princess and Vaiya found themselves at the entrance to Kokiri forest. It was mid-afternoon, but none of the bright light penetrated the foreboding gloom of the entrance to the infamous Lost Woods. April had more than one dark thought about the forest, having heard horror stories from many over the years. 

Still, she refused to let this sway her from helping Hyrule in any way she could. She practically dragged Vaiya into the woods in her determination. 

"Can we not slow down a little, Princess?" the Seer asked. "The seal cannot be performed until midnight, anyway." 

"And you know this how?" April asked, irritated. 

Vaiya raised an eyebrow. 

"Oh." 

April now felt stupid as well as terrorized. 

As they walked through the impossibly large hollow tree to the interior of the forest, April noted the sounds that their footsteps made. At first it was nothing but soft, grassy sounds. Then it became the snapping of twigs and crushing of dry leaves. Suddenly she felt and heard the dull click of wood under them, wood which presented itself to be a bridge. Another hollow tree and the two of them could not take another stop for the site they saw. 

Before them was a meadow, misty and surrounded by towering trees. Odd, glowing orbs not dissimilar from Saria's fairy fluttered and floated leisurely in almost every area of the place. There were some trees carved out to form what seemed to be houses. And the whole area was occupied by children. 

Or what seemed to be children. 

April was the first one to step out of the hollow tree, looking around as Saria's fairy emerged saying how wonderful it was to be in the forest again. 

Just as false comfort began to overcome her senses, something jumped at April from the right. 

She squeaked, rolling out of the way just as the dark shadow struck above her. She reached for the dagger she kept in her boot, turning around to face her attacker. 

What met her eyes was a strange site. It was what appeared to be a demented version of a flower, complete with light green sepals and fangs. What would be petals were blue in color, and the 'flower' was attached to the ground by a moving vine. April immediately associated this creature with the word "Deku," though she couldn't for the life of her remember what it was called. 

"Damned, stupid thing! Yaah!" she yelled, effectively severing the vine that help it up. She watched the its blue head deflate and finally sputter out of existence. She took a deep breath and practically threw the dagger back into her shoe. 

"Hey! Thanks for that, newcomer!" said a young sounding voice from behind her. 

April turned toward the voice to find a blonde girl, or Kokiri more correctly. She seemed to have been watching April with amazement. 

"Those things are always popping up out of nowhere lately, near the forest entrance!" The girl giggled. 

April looked back toward Vaiya, who stepped forward and said, "We're looking for Saria. Do you know where we might find her?" 

Before the Kokiri had a chance to say anything, another voice answered. A louder, somewhat more mean voice. 

"And what would someone like you be doing looking for Saria?" 

April glanced behind the blonde to find another childlike Kokiri. He was shorter than the girl, and had red hair and freckles. She thought this person brought to mind a certain name, which she also, alarmingly to her, could not remember. 

"We are sorry to intrude on your forest," Vaiya supplied. "But we need to see the girl, Saria." 

"Can you just tell us where she is?" April asked, irritated for reasons she didn't quite understand. 

"Why do you wanna know?" the red head asked suspiciously. 

April glared daggers at the shorter child. "What's it to you, punk?" 

"Zelda..." Vaiya warned, although she sounded almost amused. 

"I suggest that you all discontinue this train of though. And Mido, stop harassing our guests." 

This new voice's owner was a Kokiri with forest green hair, and noticeably lacking in a fairy at the moment. It was not hard to tell that she was, indeed, the Forest Sage Saria. 

"But they're not guests!" Mido insisted. "They're intruders!" 

"Sure," Saria said as she passed him, smiling warmly at the new comers. "Hello, Princess Zelda." 

Neither April nor Vaiya were surprised that Saria knew her name. 

*** 

Another hour and the troupe, which now consisted of four including Saria's fairy, hovered around the entrance to the Forest Temple. In the Sacred Forest Meadow, things were even more misty and mysterious, and it was somewhere that April did not wish to be by herself. 

Saria sat on an old tree stump under the crumbling staircase that led to the Forest Temple, while April and Vaiya stood inspecting and Saria's fairy hovered seemingly aimlessly. 

"I've been having the same nightmare for some time now," Saria said. "It begins with utter darkness, and I know it's not the good darkness, as in night. No, this is Evil itself. A light suddenly appeared, however. It is so bright that I can almost hear it, and... green like leaves during Spring." The small, green haired woman shook her head. "But I cannot reach it. In fact, I do not even know what it is until I wake up." 

"Then you know what it is?" Vaiya and April asked simultaneously. 

Saria nodded in her fairy's direction. "Mori has sensed that the Sage of Light has tried contacting most of the Sages, including myself, but has failed because of the evil that has befallen their temples. Yes, I know that I am the Sage of Forest, but I cannot truly become her until I've been awakened. And you know the only one who can really do that as of now is the Hero of Time." She ran a hand through her hair, sighing. 

"That's why we're here, though," April said, continuing. "To keep the evil from totally taking over, right?" 

"Seven years is a long time for evil to take its toll," Vaiya offered. 

"So this Seal will be able to at least do something in the way of preventing that. I'm glad we're all on the same track." At this Saria stood up and looked toward the entrance of the Forest Temple. "If the darkness is allowed complete control of any Temple, there is no guarantee that its respective Sage will ever be awakened. Because once this has happened, it will practically take a miracle for Link to break the spell and do anything about awakening us." 

'And I think we're all used up on miracles,' April thought sadly. 

"By giving ourselves even the slightest chance in our Temples with these seals, we are giving ourselves more of a opportunity to succeed against Ganondorf." 

April cringed at the name. 

"The seal will use power of the forest to give us this chance. I already know a little bit about using the energy of the forest," Saria declared. "But most of it was from what the Deku Tree had told me. See, I always knew that I was a bit off from the other Kokiri in that I always seemed closer to the forest. I did not know that I was its Sage, however, until right before Link's quest started, actually. The Tree had told me, sensing that the Legend was about to unfold. But until that dream, I had only had the words. I had never felt anything proving this fact. Now I can feel the power close, but it's as if that power is on the inside of an bubble and I'm on the outside." 

"And you need a certain Hero of Time to burst that bubble," April added, somewhat ironically. 

The Kokiri smiled lugubriously. 

"So, at midnight tonight." Vaiya stated matter-of-factly. 

"True. I don't know why these things always seem to be so specific in time, but..." Saria shrugged. 

Thus, for the next several hours, the small group sat and waited. Saria had brought some food with her, and so they ate that when it began to get dark. Saria played the Ocarina, as she always seemed to be doing. Vaiya sat under the decaying staircase and looked troubled. 

Otherwise, April found, oddly enough, that she was bored out of her skull. She would have thought that any trip away from her routine would at least have been interesting. Then again, she was not one of those people that would sit and do nothing for an hour just because she could. There wasn't much in the way of enemies in the forest at that moment, as the Temple's power still hadn't totally been blocked out. So she couldn't even do anything in the way of 'exterminating.' She would have gone into the Temple itself, but for the broken staircase. 

Midnight came, however slowly. The moon was directly overhead, and oddly bright from most nights any of them could remember. Each of the three stood, and one floated, and left their own train of thought to gather at the center of the Sacred Forest Meadow. The stone carving of the Forest Medallion was just behind them, shadowed almost eerily in the moonlight. 

Saria and Vaiya looked serious, but April looked slightly confused. 

"Eh, what exactly are we supposed to do?" 

Vaiya sighed and Saria chuckled slightly. 

Saria's fairy, Mori, actually offered an explanation. "We need you because, as the Seventh Sage, you link the rest together. And we need each respective Sage because of his or her control over the element of their Temple. Of course, neither of you are fully awakened, but your powers are still hidden somewhere within you." 

Vaiya continued. "There is a spell we can use, a sort of protection spell, that will be combined with the Sage's power and the linking power of the Last Sage. Together, it will basically be a seal against alien forces in the Temple, which will include Ganondorf's power and minions." Vaiya paused, seemingly trying to find out how to begin. But then she slouched slightly. "I don't know the words..." 

"I do," Mori supplied. 

Saria smiled. "That's why I sent her, because she seems to be even closer to this Sage business than I am. I think it is because of her connection to the late Deku Tree." 

Without adding anything further, the little fairy began chanting words in an ancient language that April didn't recognize at first while Vaiya stepped back to make room. After a moment, however, April identified it as a dialect of Ancient Hylian usually used by priestesses of the Sect of Farore. April had to shake her head at the odd little tidbit of information the Triforce of Wisdom provided her with. 

The chanting, which now sounded almost like singing, continued for a minute longer before something odd happened. The air immediately around Saria began to glow a shimmering green. Without warning, a tendril of this same light emerged from the area of her heart. April noted dully that there was something similar coming from her, which was white tinged with gold. 

The stone Medallion also played a part. It began to glow dully, a green color similar to Saria's aura, when Mori's chanting greatly resembled a melody known as the Minuet of Forest. None of them could see it, but they could feel the power being drained from the land around them. Saria's visible energy combined with this as it made its way toward the stone. A disk of light was being formed from all this, and suddenly April's energy also jumped into action. It coiled its way around the disk, like a "link" between it and the energy of the forest itself. 

Both Saria and April could feel the drain in their energies and those of the land around them, but the onslaught of light continued until the disk imploded on itself and disappeared, leaving Saria and the Princess to collapse when it was gone. 

"Well, that was... interesting," April panted. 

*** 

***Hm. That's it. I know there wasn't much in that chapter, but I had some explaining to do here. More action will take place in the next chapter. REVIEW!!! Or I won't post. ^_^ Arigatou gozaimasu! 


	23. Pointless Quests and Folksongs

*** Mwahahaha... I don't really know why I'm laughing... Maybe because I had an epiphany the other night on this story (this was before I left for Japan...) and I'm executing my plans. I wish I was at the point where... Aaack, better be careful not to tell you what happens. ^_^ 

*** 

Seven weeks and it was time to go back to Hyrule. 

After the first seal had been placed on the Forest Temple, Saria and Vaiya had indeed felt the drain on the land's natural magic forces. April, however, had not. This was probably due to the fact that she had passed out right afterwards, though. 

Eventually, they had gotten back to the other Kakariko and spent the next seven weeks preparing April's magic stamina. The training during the past three years seemed to have been focused more on the mental and physical aspects of the skills April would need, with the magic being used more as a tool for these. Impa had said when they first began her training that the spells would be helpful to the Princess in the future, though they hadn't been sure exactly what type of magic she would need to be familiar with. 

After completing the Seal, however, Vaiya had come to a conclusion as to what types of magic April would need, now that the knew for sure that she was the Seventh Sage. 

Impa had had a hint for a while now that Zelda was the Seventh Sage, but now that it was a known fact, they thought that magic should be a higher priority for them. 

Vaiya had also begun to get a sense of who the other Sages were. Though none of them had heard Rauru's call, and nobody but Saria had a creature like Mori who was so close to nature, Vaiya was almost certain that they at least had an idea of their role in Destiny, that voice in the back of their minds that told them they were different. She knew that Darunia, the leader of the Gorons, was the Fire Sage. Because of this, that was to be their next stop. 

Of course, April already knew who all the Sages were, but keeping that knowledge to herself was a bit difficult. She had thought that if the names should slip, she could always blame the Triforce of Wisdom and her own Sage knowledge. Though, she had to confess, she did not know if she would _know_ who the other Sages were would it not have been for her experience in the past. Or the future, it might be thought of as. 

'Whatever...' April thought, as she contemplated this issue for what seemed like the hundredth time. 

As the morning of the day they were to go to Death Mountain dawned, April was surprisingly already awake. She had gone out to the kitchen to sit at the table, as she could not go back to sleep. 

"I'm almost surprised to find you awake at this hour," Sheik said, sitting at the table which was her destination. 

"Huh," April murmured, sitting down. "Dèjá vu..." she mumbled. 

"Can't sleep?" Sheik asked. 

"Nah," the Princess replied. 

There was a brief silence. And then... 

"You can't sleep?" April asked. 

"I'm usually awake at this time, anyway." 

"Oh." April said. "Picasso said sleep was a waste of time..." she muttered. 

"Who?" 

"Ah, never mind." 

Another silence. 

"I need coffee..." 

"What?" Sheik asked. 

April sighed. 

*** 

A few hours later, April found herself on the path up Death Mountain. Vaiya was accompanying her again, both of them finding it rather odd that there was a giant, dark cloud over the top of the volcano. April hoped that it wasn't going to erupt. Also, Vaiya and the Princess both agreed that it was much too hot to be possible. Not only that, but it was hot and humid. 

"I think the heat is melting my brain..." April mumbled as they approached the Goron City. 

"As much as I hate to admit it, I agree with you." Vaiya exhaled deeply as she brushed the bangs out of her eyes. 

"Suddenly I feel extremely guilty for making Link come here..." 

The two of them arrived at the giant cave that was the entrance to the city. Death Mountain was a really a mountain in comparison to the tiny little hill that she had seen in the game. 'In fact,' she noted, 'nothing is really the same in terms of appearances...' 

They entered the Goron City, and all at once felt that they had walked directly into a refrigerator after being in the Sahara Dessert. April was greatly relieved at the change in temperature, and she lets this be known. 

"Gorons! I love the Gorons! They have air conditioners!!!" The Princess grinned stupidly and spun around on her heel. 

Vaiya only blinked and began to walk towards the staircase, to the lower levels of the City. 

The city was very large, and consisted of about twenty or so different levels. April assumed that Darunia would be at the bottom of the city, but she was not sure. Goron City was not yet abandoned, and so April assumed that there was not yet a demented, fire-breathing dragon about to eat a dozen or so Gorons. 

After what seemed like an eternity of descending stairs and asking the various living rocks where their "Big Brother" was, they reached a large stone door, ornately carved and decorated with a carpet in front of it, which was covered in Triforce symbols. Vaiya pulled out the Ocarina of Time and handed it to April. 

As the Seventh Sage, apparently the Princess was the guardian of all the songs of the various temples, as well as the Song of Time and her own Lullaby. April had, in years past, figured out that she already knew how to play the Song of Time and Zelda's Lullaby, but during the last seven weeks she had started to play around with the Minuet of Forest. 

And so now, she put the Ocarina to her mouth and played Zelda's Lullaby. 

Oddly enough, nothing happened for a moment. April half expected a synthesized chord of strange music, but then she heard the grind of stone on stone. It was not very different from the sound she had heard in the library at Hyrule Castle, when she had opened the secret passage for the first time. 

The pair peered into the darkness for all of two seconds before a loud, gruff voice called out "Enter!!" 

April squeaked, and Vaiya dragged the Princess into the tunnel. 

In the fact that Darunia looked like a living rock, he was no different from the other Gorons April had seen today. But that was basically where the similarity stopped. The Goron leader was at least a foot taller, and had an impossible looking beard, also made out of whatever rock substance the Gorons flesh consisted of. His eyes had a sharp intensity that was completely different from the dull, happy-go-lucky look that many Gorons possessed. April almost preferred their sleepy contented-ness, however, in the presence of the intimidating Sage of Fire. 

Oddly enough, however, Darunia began to smile as soon as the Princess and her attendant came into view. 

"If it isn't the Princess Zelda! Alive and well!" Darunia said in an oddly gentle voice, even if it did seem to shake the floor itself. 

"Alive, well, and in disguise," Vaiya added, smiling. 

"Of course," Darunia said knowingly, still grinning. "But Princess! We had not heard what had happened to you. I am glad to know that there is a light of hope left. I've heard about the Castle, and the Town..." The last note had been added in a more subdued tone. 

"As nice as it is to be able to catch up with friends of the past, is it all right if we get to the point, and tell you exactly why we are here?" Vaiya asked. 

"Of course. I have not forgotten the alliance of Hyrule and the Gorons. If you are in need of any help-" 

"Actually, we came here to hopefully offer more hope," April began. 

"And speaking of light," Vaiya added. "I have to ask, have you noticed an elusive one in your dreams lately?"  
Darunia looked lost in thought for a moment. Realization came over him. "Indeed, I have." 

April looked at Vaiya, asking an unvoiced question. Vaiya nodded. 

"Do you know of certain people who are known as Sages?" April asked. 

"Of course, I know the legend well." 

"Well... that 'legend' is about to unfold itself." April took a deep breath. "And we are trying to help the Sages to protect their Temples while the Hero of Time is still... indisposed," she decided. 

At this, Darunia looked very curious. "How do you plan to do this, Princess?" 

Vaiya decided to answer. 

"We'd like your permission to enter the Fire Temple. Also, we would like you to escort us there, to help us with a spell we would like to perform." 

"Magic?" Darunia asked, his nose crinkling comically. "What would be this spell you have in mind?" 

"It's a Seal that will keep dark forces from the Temple, or at least discourage them from totally talking over." 

"I see," Darunia said. 

'So we're not telling him that he's the Sage?' April asked Vaiya silently. 

'Not if he doesn't already know. I don't know what that would do... The only reason Saria knew was because of Mori.' 

'Oh...' 

*** 

In little over an hour, the group of three had been to the entrance of the Fire Temple via the hidden entrance in Darunia's room, performed the spell via Vaiya's knowledge as a Sage and from having seen what Mori did at the Forest Temple, thoroughly confused Darunia as to why he had to be there in the first place via the fact that he still did not understand that he was the Sage of Fire, and were on their way home via the path down Death Mountain, both feeling the drain on the land this time. 

April had realized by this point that the songs of each Temple were used in the Seal, as she had heard the Minuet of Forest used when Mori had used the spell, and the Bolero of Fire when Vaiya had done the spell just then. She thought that they must be something like folk melodies in that many people seemed to know them already, but they were different in that they had a certain significance. She thought that they probably had power when used for a purpose such as a spell, or in the case of being played on the Ocarina of Time, they would transport the player to the stone tablet at the entrance to the Temple. Otherwise, she thought, they were relatively harmless melodies. It was easier on her mind to think of the Song of Time in this way, as well. If played on anything other than the Ocarina of Time, it had no power. 

Her "modern" world knowledge and skepticism sometimes led her to doubt some of the things that were the foundations of Hyrule. The fact that nobody but the Royal Family and those they had chosen were allowed to play Zelda's Lullaby was a bit hard for her to accept. But then again, maybe if someone played it on anything other than the Ocarina of Time it wouldn't be useful to them in any way. Back before Ganondorf had taken over Hyrule, it probably would have gotten one arrested for playing it. But now, she was sure that if any one of Ganondorf's many spies head one playing it, it would get one killed. 

At the moment, she was having a conversation with Vaiya on this train of thought. 

"And what about the Song of Storms?" April was asking. "If it was played by just anyone, it would be raining all the time. And I don't even want to think about the Sun's Song..." 

"You just gave me the explanation for that, Zelda." Vaiya sighed. "You said something about the Song of Time not being effective on anything but the Ocarina of Time. It's the same thing. Hyrule is built on magic in many respects, Zelda. Is it so hard to accept?" 

"For someone who hadn't really been around magic most of their life, probably," April muttered. "It's not that it's hard to accept. I know most of the people here know that magic exists. It's just that most of them have probably never seen it used, let alone used it themselves before." 

"That's why only certain individuals know how to use it," Vaiya said, like it was obvious. "It would not be useful if everyone knew it. The songs are melodies taken from existing ones, and enchanted when it comes to being used in certain things, and played on a certain instrument." 

"You make it all sound very simple." 

"It is." 

April sighed. 

*** 

***La la la. So, this story is going to get finished eventually. I know what's going on. And these chapters don't have much going on in them, but that's because I'm using them as a setting. So you'll just have to wait until this little mini series is over. Click the little button and tell me what you think! Thank you! 


	24. Of All The Things I've Lost

***....? 

(We interrupt this usual author's note for a brief scene in Authoress Land, also known as SZ's brain.) 

April: Hn. 

SailorZelda can be seen running amuck and laughing her head off in a rather scary fashion. 

April: Yep, she's finally lost it. 

SailorZelda: *Cackles* 

April: She'd like to tell you lovely readers that these next four chapters, which she has been looking forward to writing for a long time, are going to be exceedingly interesting. Of course, she has been on a rather sadistic streak lately, so... 

SailorZelda: MEMORIES!!!! 

April: *Blink* No, don't even ask... 

SailorZelda: *turns creepy* You didn't need to tell them that. *Cackles* 

*** 

"So what is the point?" Link asked her. 

She blinked. "I'm not sure, exactly." 

Link started at her almost incredulously. 

"Beside saving the world and all that. I mean, the obvious." 

"Ehe, yes, of course beside the obvious...." 

'Good going, April.' 

But Link suddenly looked like he was trying to figure out what he had just asked her, as if he hadn't been the one that had voiced the words. She was curious, as well, as to why he had asked the question in the first place. Her immediate thought was why was she the one that had to do this, instead of Zelda. But of course, that was silly. She hoped he wasn't having second thoughts about the whole 'quest' idea. 

"I think the point is that, seeing as I've seen something through my dreams, Fate has pretty much pegged us. We have to do this because Fate and I don't want Ganonjerk ruling Hyrule. But basically? Because we have to. You mess with Destiny, you're screwed." 

'Now where did that come from?' Two identical trains of thought. 

There was a silence. 

April was the first to break the tension. "I think these visions are going to my head..." 

She laughed and was joined by the young future-hero. 

"I didn't mean to sound like I didn't want to help you, Zelda," Link said, almost apologetic. 

She shrugged it off. "I can't expect you to believe everything I tell you." 

"Oh, yes you can. You're royalty." 

A nervous giggle. 

"Yeah, that..." 

"And beside," Link began. "Getting two rocks sounds a lot easier than defeating some deformed spider to remove a curse from a deity." 

"If you only new the half of it..." 

She stopped herself, while Link, not exactly sure what the Princess meant by that, was suddenly not as sure of himself as he had been a minute earlier. 

Their 'interesting' conversation, however, was interrupted as Ruto walked through the crowd to make a "crowd" of the current group of two. 

'Ruto...' 

*Ruto.* 

A blink. 

"Hello?" 

A hand waving in front of her face. 

"Oh, yeah." 

A finished melody. A stopped waterfall. Jump, and then- 

"I asked you what the point was of having me hold the Ocarina for you, Zelda. You didn't answer." 

She blinked again, and answered slowly. "Just kind of spaced out there..." 

'Yeah...' 

That memory had been of the first day she met him. That first day when she had gotten one of the few private moments with Link at the banquet. Vaiya's stated question of "What's the point...?" had lead her mind down memory paths that she had forgotten were there. Because when she thought about him, it hurt. 

Currently, though, April and Vaiya were walking down the short, dark pathway that lead into Zora's domain. Vaiya's visions had lead her to believe that the Zora Princess, Ruto, was their next target: The Sage of Water. April, of course, already knew this. She also knew that this would involve asking the headstrong Ruto for her help. 

But she was looking forward to seeing the fish-girl nonetheless. 

As they reached the end of the path, April was most impressed with the scenery, and showed this in a rather eloquent. 

"Holy _crap!"_ she shrieked in awe, staring at the gigantic empty space that was Zora's Domain. "You could fit freakin' Desert Colossus in here!!" 

April thus proceeded to run to the edge of the path, at which point she looked over the edge to the giant bowl of water below. 

"Helloooo!" she called out childishly, giggling slightly when she heard the echo. 

But what she didn't expect was an echo that was actually a response to her call. 

"Hello?" said the nearby Zora who was standing two yards or so behind Vaiya. She Seer was startled into whirling around, while April nearly fell off the edge. 

She regained her composure, however, as she turned around to greet the new voice. 

"Ah, yeah. We're here because.... I knew you were there..... Hi!" the Princess stuttered. 

Vaiya simply looked at her, unbelieving in the fact that the heiress of Hyrule was such a ditz. 

The Zora on the other hand, walked forward to examine the two intruders skeptically. "I do not recognize either of you. You must have some business with the Zora, otherwise you would not have come here. Am I correct?" 

April found the half fish's speech and attitude rather annoying, but chose not to voice this thought. 

"Ah, we request an audience with your Princess," Vaiya began, respectfully. "I-" 

But before she could continue, the Zora interrupted her. "What is your business with Princess Ruto?" 

At this point, April fumed a bit. "Hey, if you have such a problem with us being here, then let me talk to the King. I'm sure he'll listen to me, after all, I am Z-" 

"Zelda!!" 

This new voice was accompanied by a half-girl-half-fish who ran into April, hugging her and nearly knocking them both over at the same time. 

While April tried to catch her balance for the second time in five minutes, Ruto held the Hylian Princess at arms length and looked her over. 

"You're alive! And taller than me, finally!" 

April smiled, glad to be so warmly received by at least someone in this watery place. 

"Ruto!" she exclaimed. "It's so great so see you! People I know are so scare these days..." 

As she trailed off, Ruto began to speak excitedly. "But how _are_ you!? You look so much more mature! We hadn't heard at _all_ anything that had happened in Castle Town, only that the Gerudo invaded! My father an I worried for your lives!" 

"It is true that the Gerudo invaded the Castle, Princess Ruto," Vaiya stated. "It is also true, however, that at this point in time, the Royal Family is Zelda only, and Castle Town is deserted." 

Ruto's face fell. 

Not wishing to damped her mood too much, April began explaining their motives for coming to the Domain. 

"Actually, Ruto, we're here because we came to give a possible hope to you and your people." 

"Really?" Ruto asked, perking up again. "Do tell!" 

"Well..." she began, laughing a bit nervously. "I'm not sure how the Zora are about this, but it involves a bit of magic-" 

"Oh, magic!" the Zora Princess exclaimed. "What could we possibly do that involves magic? I don't even _know _any! But go on!" 

April blinked and started again, dully noting that the irritating Zora who had first greeted them was still standing off to the side, behind Vaiya. "So, you know a bit about Ganondorf, right?" 

The Zora Princess's face scrunched up at the mention of the name, but before she got a change to say anything, April continued. 

"Well, he was the one behind the Gerudo invasion, obviously. And my... assistants and I have been lead to believe that he wants to rule Hyrule, and maybe more. I haven't seen the Castle, and really have no clue what is going on there now, but that isn't the point." She took a deep breath. "Okay, the Temples in Hyrule have powers that not many are aware of. If we keep them safe while there is no one to awaken their Sages - You know about the Sages, right?" 

"Of course, I am one," Ruto said, as if it were obvious. 

April started, eyes widening a bit. "Really?" 

"Yeah. I've known for a while now. My mother told me the legend of the ancient Sages, and she told me that she had a feeling that they would be awakened again soon." She paused, as if searching for the words. "I had a dream about... something I don't really remember, but I have a strong suspicious that I am a Sage." 

"Oh," April replied simply. 

She turned to Vaiya. "She seems to know so much, already... Can I tell her about-?"  
"Go ahead," Vaiya said, also intrigued by the seemingly informed Zora. 

"Okay, Ruto. Since you know that, you know that each Sage has a Temple. Well, these Temples need protecting until they can be purged of evil by the Hero of Time, so the Sages can be awakened." She took another breath. "And since the Hero of Time isn't around yet, we need to wait. The Hero of Time is Link." 

As soon as the name was mentioned, Ruto's eyes nearly doubled in size. 

"Link's alive!?!?" She seemed to grab onto this piece of information. "Where is he!?" 

"Well, there's a problem there..." April was afraid of crushing the Princess's spirits again. 

"Link is currently imprisoned in the Sacred Realm," Vaiya said. "He will not awaken yet for approximately four years from this point. The Temples need protecting, and we're the ones to do it." 

At this, there was a fire in Ruto's eyes. "Then what do we need to do!?" 

"Go to the Water Temple." At this, however, April winced. "Which is on the other side of Hyrule... oh, no..." 

"No problem," Ruto stated. "There is a passageway right over there." Ruto pointed in a vague direction before turning back to the intrigued pair. "It'll take us less than a minute. We can leave at once!" 

As she turned to lead them down to the water, however, someone cleared their voice behind the Princess. The young Zora girl turned around, a frightening expression on her face as she addressed the Zora. "Yes?" she said, almost cryptically. 

The Zora fidgeted a bit before answering. "Highness, I do not think the King will approve of-" 

"I don't _care_ if my father approves!" she interrupted with a wave of her hand. "Go and tell him that I'll be back by dinner!" 

"But, Highness..." 

Ruto fixed the unfortunate Zora with a death glare, and he was silent. 

"Onward!" Ruto exclaimed, and was followed by a bewildered April and Vaiya. 

They arrived at the great bowl of water in a few minutes time, seeing as they couldn't simply dive over the edge into the water as many Zora usually did. There was a small stretch of land that the three young women were standing on, and underneath this was the passageway Ruto had mentioned. 

Unfortunately for the two non-fish, this passage was under water. 

Ruto started downward for a minute, a thoughtful expression on her face. "You can hold your breath, right?" she asked. 

April sighed. "Yeah." 

"Due to the fact that we have no other choice in the ways of getting to Lake Hylia, this will have to do..." Vaiya conceded. 

"Um, okay. Hold on then..." 

Ruto made as if to jump into the water, and the other girls followed suit. A moment before April hit the water, she suddenly realized that it was going to be cold indeed. Although, even when she did sink to the bottom, she didn't have time to contemplate the temperature. 

She flailed around madly, trying to see around the billowing clock that was currently blocking her view of the passage. She felt Ruto grab her hand, and she was pulled in a direction she hoped was not the wrong one. The sudden pulling sensation from every angle cued her mind to the fact she was indeed going through the warp hole. 

A certain phrase crossed her mind an instant before a bright flash of light assaulted her eyes, though she oddly enough could not remember where she had heard it. 

'How far down does the rabbit hole go...?' 

She was sucking in a breath of fresh air before she realized what was going on. She felt the other who girls moving around her, and suddenly found herself standing in waist deep water as she tried to clear her eyes of the water are obtrusive hair presently in her face. 

"That's lovely," she muttered, as she slipped out of the dreadfully heavy, soaking wet cloak, revealing that even her Sheikah garb underneath was completely drenched. "Yeah, and it's not enough that we have to travel underwater to get here, oh no..." Her mutterings became darker by the moment. "And I have to be wet and not be able to walk in my so-called disguise..." 

It was about six in the evening by that point, which meant that the sunset was coming soon. April hoped at least something she was wearing would be dried by then. Of course, Vaiya didn't fare much better in the incident. Ruto was lucky in the fact that she wasn't wearing anything that could get wet. 

As the three stood together at the side of the lake, they turned almost choreographic to Lake Hylia. 

"Well that's interesting," Vaiya said, after a moment of silence. 

April was the next one to venture to speak. "Now, I don't remember ever being here before, but does that look wrong to you?" 

Wrong it was. The lake looked like a glass half drained of liquid. 

"Wha...?" was the only thing Ruto could think of to say. She looked to be in shock. 

"Now, what do _you _think is going on here," April said sarcastically. But before she gave anyone a change to answer her inquiry, she continued. "I can only think of one idiot that could be behind this. Ganondorf and his hoard of minions." 

"There is no time to loose, then," Vaiya said. "If we don't perform that seal now..." 

She trailed off as she looked toward the water, which could actually be seen to be lowering in level. It wasn't quick at all. But the fact that, to April at least, it looked like someone had taken a giant straw to Lake Hylia, was a bit unnerving to all of them. 

"I'm guessing this has something to do with whatever creatures Ganon has placed in the Water Temple," Vaiya said with a sigh. "This has to have taken weeks to get down to this level." 

"We can stop it though, right!?" Ruto said, speaking for the first time in a few minutes. 

"...I'm not exactly sure what the Seal can do to aid this situation, I'm afraid." 

April turned purposefully toward the lone island at the lake's center, which held the stone carving they would need for the Seal. 

"Should we get started then?" 

There was no voiced answer, but a mutual consent between the three as they walked toward the bride to the island. 

"You guys should remind me not to get completely worked up over these things," Ruto said, almost comically. "Because then I go doing rash things, like getting myself swallowed by a giant fish deity or nearly drowning the Princess of Hyrule." The last bit was added with a smirk. 

"Bite your tongue," April said acidly. 

*** 

The Zora King had indeed not approved of his beloved Princess venturing out of his domain at random hours of the evening, only to come back hours later and with two soaking wet escorts whom he did not recognize. But when he had learned that his 'precious Ruto' was safe and sound, he had turned immediately to thank the two mystery girls. 

Not only did he thank them, but he invited them to stay for dinner. As the Zora usually didn't sit down to eat, as other races usually did, they accompanied Ruto in sitting on the raised platform before King Zora. A few Zora brought out plates upon plates of dishes, a few of which still had things moving on them. Said plates April refused to touch. 

Right before they left, the two Princess exchanged a brief farewell. 

"I'm going to miss you, again," Ruto said. 

"Yeah..." April agreed. "You sure that you will be okay?" 

Ruto scoffed. "I can handle myself." 

April grinned. "I thought so." 

"You'll have to tell me when our dear Link wakes up." 

April smiled. "I wouldn't dream of forgetting." 

In the back of her mind, she was sympathizing with Link. 

By the time the pair were on their way out of the Domain, they were quite fat and happy, and were for once not having an insightful discussion on the ways Hyrule worked. There was a peaceful quite between the two almost-sisters. 

When they had gone back through the Shadow Temple, which still gave April nightmares, and the Mirror, they were both extremely tired from the long day. Both could feel the drain in magic and energy, and April didn't think she could handle anything until she had had a long night's sleep. 

Of course, Fate isn't always so kind. 

As soon as April's head touched the her pillow, she reared back up in pure horror. 

"Oh, _no!!_" she called out, unintentionally. 

Oddly enough, it was Sheik who first came running into her room. 

"What!?" he asked her, afraid of the cause of her sudden outburst. 

The Princess turned to him, eyes wide with fear. "She isn't going to _be_ there!!" 

Sheik blinked, looking her over to see that she was safe for the moment. "What's going on, now?" he asked, a bit less panicked. 

"What's wrong?" came Impa's voice from beyond the doorway. 

"The next Sage, Impa!" April continued. "Nabooru! She isn't going to BE there!!!" 

*** 

***(We now return to the scary scene of the authoress's mind.) 

April: *dryly* Well, that was enjoyable, wasn't it? 

SailorZelda: *cackles* 

April: WILL YOU STOP DOING THAT!!??!??!?? *ahem* Anyway, she wanted to end the chapter like this because she thought it was a bit to calm. She's having too much fun writing this upcoming part of the story, let me tell you... The next three chapters for you guys should be fun. She also used a bit of a different style in this chapter- 

April winces because of the crash caused by SZ knocking over her gigantic Maneki Neko statue. 

April: ...and apparently is still out of it... 

SailorZelda: I SHALL CONQUER THE ONE-SHOT! CONQUER, I TELL YOU!!!! *Cackles* 

April. -_-() I don't even wanna know. I guess she thinks she has to talk in capitol letters. 

Ja, minna-san! 

~ SailorZelda's unfortunate brainchild April, signing off for her 


	25. I Miss My Mind the Most

*** My God. *le sigh* I am so bored today that it isn't even funny. Blah blah blaaaaaah. I don't really feel like doing anything. This gives me a chance to sit down and write I guess, because I've heard that boredom can sometimes spawn ideas. This isn't the whole chapter. I'm just SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK of this story not being updated. *nodnod* 

*** 

After a brief incident at half past midnight on the night the two girls had gotten back from Lake Hylia, in which April had refused to calm down at all, the household was quite unsure of what to do. Vaiya tried to assure everyone that it would be all right. However, every time she would say this, April would jump all over the statement, making some sarcastic comment about simply leaving the Spirit Temple to be corrupted. 

It wasn't until April had fallen asleep mid-sentence that Vaiya consulted the Book. Though she wasn't sure exactly what help the volume could provide, she thought that it was worth at least a bit of research to ensure the security of the second to last Temple. The seer came across several variants of summoning spells and the like, and a rather interesting riddle that had something to do with letting well enough alone, and allowing Time to do its job. 

Even after the extensive tome had been poured over into the early hours of the morning, Vaiya was still unsure that anything would help them in their mini-quest to assist the Hero of Time. 

It occurred to her suddenly, as many important things often did, that Nabooru would not be there, as the Princess had claimed. However, this was only a comment to her mental state. 

Cursing her rather untimely vision, which could have saved them an argument or two, she realized that Nabooru was currently possessed and under the influence of the cause of evil in the Temple. This, she knew, could be used to their advantage. The things Vaiya had been looking for were summoning spells, and vision spells that would allow the Sage to be present without her actually being _ physically _present. However, if Nabooru was in the Temple itself... 

It wasn't until a few days later that Vaiya actually told the Princess what her plan was. She'd wanted to give her mind a few days rest before she attempted to get anything through to her. 

April wasn't exactly sure what Vaiya had meant by 'getting Nabooru's attention mentally in order to use her energy,' though when it came to practicing for this she was rather amused. 

In the past, she had been able to communicate with Impa and Vaiya through mental conversation. However, there was something important about this that she didn't realize until Vaiya began to show her more in-depth aspects of this sort of magic. The reason she could converse with these two was because she could recognize their energy. Impa had been her guardian ever since 'she' was young, and Vaiya was Impa's niece. This link made it easier to pick up on these two, especially when it was she who had to start the conversation. 

There was a perk to being the Seventh Sage, April realized. 

'Well, not technically... yet, but....' 

Most of the time April didn't even bother to think about the awakening of the Sages, including herself. She knew that this would wind up in a train of thought that involved Link. And also, several months ago, she had somehow realized that she, as the Seventh Sage, would not be awakened fully until all of the other Sages were awakened. She thought, ironically, that it was no wonder she was the Last Sage. 

But on the topic of the mental conversation, her hidden linking power as a Sage helped a great deal in using magic. This included telepathic power. This also meant that she wanted to try these powers out at every opportunity. She had begun to communicate with random people, trying to figure out how exactly one could go about picking up on energy signals without actually knowing the individual. Of course, the ever-helpful Book offered much information on this. 

One particular evening, April had begun a mind chat with Sheik, whose energy she had just picked up on a few days previous. 

'_Boo!'_ she yelled mentally. 

There was, oddly, no response. 

_'Hi-yoo?'_

_'Can you stop acting like you're five for three minutes?'_

_'Maybe,' _was the sarcastic response. 

There was a sigh from the other end of the connection. 

_'And you know, when I was five, I was learning how to rule a country. So there.' _April stuck her tongue out at him from across the room. 

_'Uh-huh...'_

_'Course, when you're five, you also don't really care to hear much about the political economy of the Lake Hylia District, either, but...'_

__Rather abruptly, the princess began choking on the bread she had been snacking on, causing Sheik to jump to his feet in alarm. 

"Are you okay!?" he asked out loud. 

She help up her hand to show that she was, indeed, not in mortal peril while she tried to rid her throat of the obtrusive pastry. 

_Where in holy Din did that thought come from!!? _she thought frantically, seeing for the second time the memory of sitting in a vast library being positively bored out of her skull. 

'_I'm very confused.'_ The oddly calm thought, which was unintentionally voiced through the link that still connected her mind to Sheik's, was lost amidst the extreme desire to simply throw a full-on fit as April tried to think of where that thought could have come from. 

But, of course, there was only one logical explanation. 

"Do you ever have a memory come back to suddenly, without any real reason?" she asked Sheik, without warning. 

"Um... sometimes, I suppose? Why?" The Sheikah was a bit perturbed by the Princess's behavior at the moment. Of course, she did tend to be unreasonably random at times, but this was a bit beyond the normal outbursts of "GOLDFISH CRACKERS!!!" 

April, who was at the moment actually doubting that any part of that person and identity remained, simply stared at him with an unreadable expression. 

"I think I'm going to bed now," the girl said while rushing to turn around and climbing up the stairs in a fashion that was actually closer to tripping and grabbing at the empty air. 

"...She scares me sometimes. She really does," Sheik said to Vaiya, who had just entered the room, on the way to the kitchen, with an armful of foodstuffs. 

"I know." 

There was a collective sigh which ended that train of thought. 

*** 

April sat cross-legged on her bed, thinking a million things yet focusing on none of them. Muttering to herself, she slowly came to the realization that she was, quite literally, loosing her mind. 

Speaking aloud to herself, she mused. "So, basically, if I have some memories from Zelda's life before I was here.... What exactly does that mean?" 

Of course, there was nobody present, or even nearly present, that could give her any semblance of an answer. 

"I remember being... myself. But I am.... not myself."At this point, she was rather tired of having to wonder exactly who, or, rather... what she was. In the three years she had existed as the princess of this 'nonexistent' place, she had been forced to accept her current place. "Destiny," as others had so inexplicably put it. 

At the start of it all, she had indeed viewed it as one big game, an elaborate scheme. There was no possible way she could have ended up where she did, as who she did. So, as to why she was now receiving memories from Princess Zelda's life previous to her intrusion of it, the reason quite escaped her. 

The only thing that truly scared her was the fact that she was starting not to remember the person she had been. 

April thought of herself as Zelda the girl. However, it had stopped being a part she had to play. She had actually assimilated her original character into the Princess of Hyrule. 

"No matter what the situation," she pondered, "the Princess seems to be chronically SOL. I mean, whether it be being kidnapped, or the losing, or in this case gaining, of memory..." 

*** 

The next few weeks would be spent with Vaiya looking for various ways of channeling energy, and April in 'deep' philosophical thought. For her, it was the classic teen identity crisis taken to the extreme. Of course, she kept all of this internal debate to herself. Muttering out loud about that fact that she was forgetting exactly who she was would probably tend to scare her fellow dimension residents. Added on to this was the training that she had been doing for the past several years. Most of it involved channeling magic, and other magically oriented things. This often tended to leave her with no energy whatsoever to be able to think about her little "issues." 

And, as it always did, Time flew by too quickly for anyone's liking. 

The morning came in which Vaiya and April were to, yet again, venture forth into Hyrule and seal yet another Temple. This time, however, Vaiya had several volumes and scrolls on her person that she thought she might need for the summoning of Nabooru's spirit. 

Oddly enough, though, they wouldn't be needing any of these... 

*** 

*** ....and now you are free to throw rocks. *nodnod* But, I love you all? ^_________^() Review, onegai! 


	26. A Not So Interludish Interlude

*** Haha, I lied. What about, I don't know. . Just read. 

*** 

Time travel is relative. 

It exists. Oh, yes. It's not even a question of whether it's physically possible or not. It's just a matter of how one goes about completing it. 

For example. If one were to go to the past, fix something that they wanted to have accomplished, and come back to the future, that certain little event in the past would have fixed whatever it was that one wanted fixing in the future. However, what if that thing one wanted fixing in the present was already fixed in the present, but it was just a matter of one having to go back into the past to make it true in the past that lead to the present, thus keeping the universe from forming a paradox? 

And if both these methods of time travel were in existence at the same time, are they both the one that is available for people to use, or is only one supposed to be used and the other one creating a paradox? Or, do things happen in the past based on how they react with the future that they are coming in contact with? Are there alternate realities with the same past, but because of time travel, have different futures? 

Confused? 

So was I, before I realized that thinking about the damn subject too much was not worth my sanity. 

Still, it isn't as if I don't think about the implications of all this time traveling for their sake. 

They're off right now. Saving the world, or something to that extent. Each one, their own task to complete. Given to them by the Goddesses, their destiny. 

Bah. Destiny. 

Yes, I'm a Sheikah, and I'm supposed to understand all of this mystical nonsense that everyone else just takes for granted as the underlying laws of the universe. I think I've hung around Zelda long enough to realize that all of these laws are incredibly relative. Except... when it comes to her, everything is relative except one's Absolute Destiny. 

People would probably pay to hear the Princess of Hyrule spout of like she does about destiny and DESTINY, Fate and Nayru and all the mess of knowledge that the Triforce of Wisdom has implanted in that little head of hers. I, for one, would not like to make her mad while she is talking about this subject fervently, as she would be quite likely to take somebody's head off. Most likely mine. 

A bit of an odd creature, our Princess. Or, Queen, should I say? Technically, if the heir to the throne has no parent's, aren't they, then, actually in possession of the throne? ...That's just a bit scary to think of this little girl running around, ruling a country... 

She's thirteen and something, now. It's almost as if she's counting down the days until she turns seventeen, because she knows that shortly after that time, she's going to get a mental call from the Goddesses, telling her exactly how she's going to get to see Link again. That's going to be in about... four years. Then, she and Link, as she has put it on various occasions, "can go beat up Ganondorf." 

Hm. Link. Nothing more than a kid, three years ago.... The same age as Zelda, maybe a bit older. And now, they're supposed to save the world. 

And I'm their age. 

... 

Can't say that I envy them in the slightest. 

But I digress. 

The point of this time travel babble was that... Well, it's hard to explain my point, exactly. After Vaiya and Zelda had set out to go put another seal on another temple, the Spirit Temple to be exact, Impa and I had done what we'd always done while they were out for the day or two. Just sit around and wait. 

So it came as quite a surprise to us that Zelda and Vaiya came back half a day later, Zelda fuming and cursing at random intervals. She kept spouting something off about "that stupid idiot ruining everything," though I don't think any of us were exactly sure what she meant by that at the time. Vaiya looked almost as bewildered as us, but we all knew that she had some semblance of an idea of what was going on in the Princess's mind. 

I don't think any of us entirely understands it. But I'm going to give my best summary. 

The issue at hand is the seals. The Seals, the ones that we still here in the world of the waking are supposed to put on the Temples to keep them from getting too corrupted with Ganon's minions whilst the Hero of Time is sealed in the sacred realm. Zelda and Vaiya had taken this task upon themselves after we had learned this little bit of information from a little fairy named Mori. 

On, and at this same time we'd learned that Zelda was the Seventh Sage. 

Only the Hero of Time can awaken all of the Sages. Because of this, well... We obviously need them all alive in order to awaken them. A Seal would have helped with that, very much. The first three temples, Forest, Fire, and Water, the two of them successfully put Seals on, while their Sages are protected by whatever circumstances overtake them during these seven years. They will be awakened by the Hero of Time, Link, when he awakens. Zelda, being the Seventh, only gets to awaken fully when all of the others are awakened. And then they all get to use their mystical, magical powers to throw Ganon into the Dark Realm. 

The last two temples needed seals. For some reason, they needed to wait a certain amount of time in between these seals, because the land can only output so much magically energy at a time. So they went to the Spirit Temple, as they would with any other temple. Of course, they went armed with Vaiya's knowledge of contacting people in spirit and all of that, as Zelda had 'seen' something about the Sage, a Gerudo woman named Nabooru, not being at the temple or anywhere that would be of any use to them. The problem turned up in the fact that not only was Nabooru not there, she was trapped in a place completely separate from our reality; almost as if someone had brainwashed her. 

Zelda, of course, knew exactly about these circumstances. 

The Triforce of Wisdom, Nayru, visions, actually going to both the Spirit and Shadow Temples while they were out for that half a day... all of these and gods know what else led her to understand that the last two Temples are involved in a rather delicate web of time travel. The Princess knows that Link will, in the future, past, present, whatever, go to these temples at different times to accomplish different things. This creates, to put it bluntly, a magically mess for anyone who wants to perform any kind of big spell. And not only do they have this disorderly magic residue to deal with pushing aside; apparently, if one does anything to tamped with the time vortex in the slightest until a time at which it is finished in its entirety, which for this situation would be after Link awakens both the Sages of these Temples, the whole "magical mess" will throw that reality into one giant paradox. 

Simply, if Zelda contacts any of these sages, all Dark Realm is going to break loose. 

So after that, Zelda was sulking over the fact that she couldn't do anything constructive for the last two temples. She knows that the Nabooru woman's safe, and she still gets incredibly evasive when anyone mentions the Sage of Shadow. 

We know she knows. She just doesn't want to tell us. Or, as like with some other... certain things we all know she knows, she thinks it better to keep that knowledge to herself. 

At first, she kept muttering about the fact that it was "no wonder those Temples were so goddamn hard" and "the idiot Link having no concern over traveling through time," and leaving "a mess for her to clean up when it was all over" and blah blah blah.... I personally think she likes it when she talks about obscure things nobody else has any clue what she means by them. 

I sigh. 

This mess has to have a simple explanation. It's just that we're all too caught up in the heat of it that we can't look at it from an outsider's perspective. 

Maybe that's why I'm explaining this to nobody. Or you.... or whoever. I don't know who in the Dark Realm I think I'm trying to explain this to. 

Hyrule is in a mess of trouble because of Ganon. Zelda'd had visions about that when she still lived in the Castle. But then Ganon took over the Castle, her Hero of Time Link got trapped in the Sacred realm for a possible time of seven years, and Zelda was taken here, to this obscure dimension right outside of Hyrule, by her loyal nursemaid Impa. She trained in the arts of magic and music, ancient Sheikah practices and martial arts, even a spell to make her "disappear," all with the help of an obscure book from ancient Sheikah Seers, predecessors of Vaiya. Then, Zelda begins to try to save the world "directly," as she always puts it. She does as much as she can, and then when Destiny decides that She's going to make things complicated, our Queen throws a hissy fit. 

Basically, right now.... In Vaiya's house, thing's are not happy. 

Zelda is making herself incredibly busy with research and training. She said that even though she might not be able to do anything directly anymore, she wants to be prepared for whatever role the Goddesses would give her in our all-important future. There's been talk of Zelda taking up a disguise. Everyone finds it a perfectly acceptable idea; after all, it's been understood in the house every since the girl got here that she was going to be the one to guide Link, being the one who has the Triforce of Wisdom and basically knows everything, unintentionally or no. It'd make sense that if she doesn't want to be found by Ganondorf, she will have to disguise herself. 

This talk of a disguise has lead to long hours of discussion over exactly what that will be. Ganondorf and his minions will be looking for a Hylian girl. 

So of course, nobody would expect to look for the crown Princess of Hyrule in a Sheikah boy. 

They want to use the disguise of a Sheikah boy. 

So what could be better than using the identity of someone she's already connected with, and even knows? Whereas most Hylians will never know, or even hear of, their "mirror," "Other," there are a million names for it, Zelda knows hers. 

That would be me. 

Sheik of the Sheikah. Mirror to the Queen of Hyrule. 

At first, and it had actually been Zelda who'd brought up the idea of her using my identity, I'd laughed at them. I mean, how would that work? But then, we started to piece it together. She would be in Hyrule; the real Sheik would be here. 

In the beginning of planning, I'd had the absurd notion that we'd be switching bodies or something. I think, actually, so did she. It was Impa who originally suggested the use of a Sheikah disguise, and they came up with the idea of using my name and appearance. Seeing as nobody in Hyrule knows about me, and she already shares a general appearance with me, and has a similar soul or however you explain the Mirror businesses, would could be easier? 

Now in the farther stages of planning this, they decided on using something called a Glamour. It's a spell that 'magically' appeared in the Book one day, as everything they need seems to. Vaiya had actually come across it, and realized that with all the training Zelda had already done, it shouldn't be too difficult to teach her the ways she would need to know to 'become' a young Sheikah man. At least, pretend to be one. 

A Glamour basically consists of changing the outward appearance of a person to resemble someone else. However, it would only make that person look like that other someone to people's eyes. No actual change in ability, strength, gender, what have you, would actually take place. Zelda could summon the disguise and discard it with ease. Easy, right? 

Except for all the planning and initial spell writing we have to do, it is. 

With four years left to perfect the disguise, and for Zelda to learn all the skills she needs, it seems like we have a lot of time on our hands. But these things pass so quickly when one's actually got something to accomplish. And with Zelda's mind finally focused on something else she can do to assist her Hero "directly," she's actually quite exited about the time coming. 

.... 

I can't help but pity us all, just a little bit. 

And even though I said things weren't exactly happy right now... That' just because of all the fighting we've been doing over this Glamour thing. Mood swinging, much? Yep. 

But that's us. Your not-quite-so-happy, dysfunctional little group of a Queen, her nursemaid/warrior, a Seer, and a kid who happens to share a part of the Queen's soul. And we all get to help in saving the world. Indirectly or "directly." 

I swear, Zelda's rubbing off on me. 

I can't help but laugh. 

We actually are quite the happy little group. And I don't think we would have it any other way. 

*** 

***Lalala..... In't this fun? Random little first person input from Sheik. Because I can. *cackle* But, you know, I've got so many new ideas for this story, now, that I don't think I'll have many problems. .....Also, I hope you didn't have problems understanding what I was trying to get across in this chapter... Meh. Oh, and I went back to other chapters and fixed some things, so you might wanna go back and reread parts of this story. Most notably in chapters 22 and 23, but there are a few other random places that I can't quite remember. 

Feedback? ^_^() 

~SailorZelda 


	27. Bongo Bongo

Alllll righty, then…

Well, this was making me sick. Not updating this thing for the ridiculous amount of time it's been neglected… And all because I thought I was too lazy to retype it so I could make it into a HTML document…

Now, all of you can enjoy the rest of this fic which has been finished for…checks printed-lovely-finished copy …. Three and a half months? !cowers! There's a fair bit left… SO - I'm gonna update a chapter at a time. Perhaps a week or more in between chapters? If you review? pleads with the readers

Anyway…. More junk! Onward!

It had started one morning while Vaiya, Sheik and the Princess were eating breakfast. Impa was out talking with the Elders, for some obscure reason. It was a nice day out, and nobody quite expected anything to go wrong that day.

That is, until the rumbling started; an ominous trembling throughout the little town that sent dark energy through the small dimension.

"What in the Dark Realm is that!?" Vaiya exclaimed as she ran to a nearby shelf to keep it from collapsing onto the floor.

April attempted not to jump to conclusions too quickly, but the feeling of dread at the pit of her stomach told her that it was, indeed, what she thought it was.

"It's Bongo Bongo. He's escaped."

Panic struck two sets of eyes as the Princess started toward the door.

"Wait a minute! It can't be that monster! It hasn't been seen for centuries!" Vaiya pulled the girl back toward the house and took a breath, seemingly trying to calm her abruptly panicked nerves. "The thing was sealed in the Shadow Temple by the ancient Sages. Even if it did break loose, something would had to have caused it."

Sheik was the one who decided to answer. "I'm taking a wild guess here, but my idea is that with the amount of magic that's been used in Hyrule in the past several years, a certain shadow monster could have gathered enough energy to break out of a certain seal."

April stared at the far wall, dreading what they were going to have to do to seal the monster again.

Vaiya sighed, saying, "Well, if this is the case, we're going to have to go to the Shadow Temple anyway to see exactly what the problem is. With any luck, if the seal is actually broken, we might be able to force it into another one. But…" she shrugged, heading toward the door and grabbing her coat.

"Where are you going?" April asked.

"To get Impa and the Elders. They'll know what we're dealing with, and how we're going to go about stopping it."

April sighed, disgruntled, and muttered, "I know how this is gonna end… And it's not gonna be pretty."

She glanced at her. "Triforce, I'm assuming?"

The Princess just continued staring ahead, as if trying to decide how much she should relay to her trusted companion.

Finally decided, she said, "I guess you're going to find out anyway, from what I've seen. So, here goes." She took a deep breath, and said, "We're going to need the Sage of Shadow to seal this beast, but it won't even be sealed in the Shadow Temple." She shook her head. "However it works, Impa is the person we need. She's that Sage."

Sheik tried to think of why that particular detail didn't surprise him very much.

"Oh," he simply replied.

The Princess got up from the table, heading toward the door to follow Vaiya. "I'm going. I already know what they're going to have to do, so… You know."

"I'm going, too."

She looked at him for a moment before replying. "Then I'm not stopping you." She smirked slightly. "Just don't get in my way."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Now," April began, walking out the door and collecting her thoughts. "I'd wondered why, as a kid, Link was able to go into the Bottom of the Well if Bongo Bongo was sealed there. I'd also hoped that it wouldn't be true, but apparently, between that time and the time he waked up is when the shadow monster actually gets put into the well."

"So you're not going to put it back into the Temple?"

She shook her head. "For whatever reason, the seal that's kept it there for however long won't work. I don't know why, but it's going to end up in the well." She rolled her eyes as she continued. "And then it's going to escape again." 

"Again?" Sheik inquired, slightly worried.

"It's what you might call the "Boss" of the Shadow Temple. The head minion, as it were. I think that when the Hero of Time gets back, Ganon is going to break the seal on the well. Then, bingo. We have ourselves a Temple infested with shadow baddies."

"Do you think that it was Ganondorf who broke the seal this time?"

April snorted. "Unfortunately, I don't think we can blame the pig, this once. The seal's so old that it's no wonder it's been broken. Probably wore down with natural energy flow, and the like."

"And the ridiculously complex web of magical energy and time travel?"

"Huh. Well, that too." Sighing, she voiced, "It's a wonder I didn't realize it before. Of course we can't put Bongo Bongo back into the Temple; there's too much magic there already. A Seal would just mess everything up. And I, personally, don't want to have to deal with that ghost in the closet."

With April's quick pace, they had reached the house of the Elders. The Princess opened the door and walked in, followed closely by Sheik. Irritably, she watched the Elders argue with each other as Impa tried to calm them down. She seemed to be the only one who had her mind still intact, and April was suddenly very glad that her nursemaid was the Sage of Shadow.

"Ahem," declared the young woman, effectively making her presence known.

"Zelda," Vaiya said simply.

"Do you know what's happened, Princess?" Monoka, the only other Elder who didn't seem to be directly involved in some kind of argument, questioned.

"Yeah, I know."

"And you know something we do not," Impa sagely stated. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be here right now."

April nodded, wondering how to begin. It wasn't a question of whether they would believe her or not; after all, she was the Princess of Destiny and the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom. It was question of whether they would think all this knowledge was actually for the best, and if they would be willing to take that chance.

"The seal on the Shadow Temple's monster is gone. Do any of you know what caused that?" she began.

"Most likely… too much stress on the Temple. And, that seal is ancient, after all," one of the Elders, an old man with a big beard, answered.

"True enough," April said. She walked around a bit, as she usually did when she was nervous about something. Sheik was almost tempted to imitate her in her pacing.

"But you all know about the magical mess in the Temple right now. You know, caused by the time travel of the Hero of Time."

All the Elders nodded simultaneously.

April thought for a moment, humorously, that they looked like a room full of bobble heads.

Gathering her wits, the Princess continued. "That is going to present a problem for resealing Bongo Bongo."

"Are you suggesting that we seal the beats somewhere else?" Impa asked slowly.

April nodded. "And I'm also suggesting that you be the one to do it."

A slight whisper ran through the crowd of Elders as Impa looked oddly at the Princess of Hyrule.

"Oh, relax," the girl uttered. "All of you were going to find out sooner or later, so…" Another deep breath. "Impa is the Shadow Sage."

Now there was a bit more noise running through the crowd.

"And with her knowing much more about Sheikah magic and the like than probably any of you," April all but yelled over the din, "… then you know it would make sense that she be the one to seal Bongo Bongo again!"

"But her powers as a Sage will not be fully awakened!" someone supplied in a reasonable tone.

"True enough," April said. "But I already know that Impa is going to be the one to fix this mess, so…" The Princess attempted to find her point once again. "So… there," She finished childishly.

"And I do know of the spell that was used to seal the demon in the long ago," Impa interjected, speaking for the first time. "It was, after all, my ancestors who put the seal on the Temple."

The was a murmur of agreement.

"Then let's get going," Impa said. "We don't' need this monster doing any more damage than it may have done already."

With that, April and Sheik walked toward Impa while the others milled around the room. Vaiya approached them, as well, her eyes betraying the fact that she knew something else that no other was aware of.

"Zelda, Sheik, I want you two to come with Impa and I," the young Seer said purposefully.

Sheik simply blinked, but the Princess managed to say, "Why?"

"Well," Vaiya began. "I Saw this just as I was walking here, but I have a feeling that it's going to work…" She drew in a deep breath, calming her Vision-frayed nerves. "Okay, everyone here is aware that Bongo Bongo is an ancient, tribal monster, correct?"  
Impa, Sheik, and April nodded.

"It was created by the Elders of a long extinct tribe that thought it would do more good than harm. Well, obviously, they were wrong. And it was sealed in the Shadow Temple. However, it did remember the people that created it, and the forces that were at work during the time of its sealing. And the one thing it kept from the tribe was the very thing that the beast is most known for. The drum."

April's eyes widened substantially.

"So, if we can get drums, three to be exact, and we can use the particular rhythms that I Heard in the vision, we can lure it to Kakariko, and seal it in the last place people would expect to look for a monster."

"The Well," the Princess concluded.

Vaiya barely blinked in response to this, nodding the affirmative.

"Why bring them into this danger?" Impa, who had previously been oddly silent, asked.  
"I need more than one person to put the beast into a kind of trance, to weaken it enough for you to be able to seal it."

"Ah," April accepted.

"So, is everyone up to this?" Vaiya questioned.

Everyone simply nodded.

After looking around for several minutes for three drums, which were surprisingly easily found in the house of the Elders, the four of them stepped in front of the Mirror that would transport them to Hyrule.

In Kakariko, a shadow flitted across a darkened sky.

The Monster was restless, and refused to stay in any one place for longer than a moment. Luckily, it hadn't done much damage yet, though bits of a few red tiled roofs were missing.

The people of the village had wisely decided to stay indoors, and the windows of the city were crowded with the curious faces of children and the morbidly fascinated ones of adults.

"Ready?" called a dark haired young woman from the center of the grassy Town Square to two teenagers standing on either side of her.

The blonde Princess and her Shadow nodded in unison, and the Sheikah Seer began to chant.

It started with a low drum, an easy beat, a constant, steady rhythm. Vaiya, despite shaking hands, dept the beat as another, higher drum filled in the upbeats and quicker, looping rhythm. Sheik kept this cycle in motion as the Princess brought in another on a very high drum. The tapping increased in volume until it was a constant stream of chant-like noise.

The Monster stopped in it's tracks.

It knew these beast, these rhythms. They were calming and alluring, and It could not escape them. It answered the call of the drums with low, resounding beats against the earth. But then, it abruptly remembered that these had been some of the very things that had caused its initial downfall. It hovered toward the two girls and the boy, a shadow of static energy and evil.

It was not about to be sealed again.

Especially not by these pretenders, these _children_, who thought they knew better.

The call of the chant was so hard to resist, however, that It found Itself pulled in the direction of the calling drums.

And it was at this point that It heard the chanting.

An older woman, with silver hair, stood behind the three young ones, arms spread wide to summon the energy of the lad in an ancient language It didn't recognize. But the Monster known as Bongo Bongo did recognize the scenario anyway. It was the sealing spell.

And yet the Monster still could not stray from it's path.

_Know that I will escape again, mortals_ It hissed in a sound that could not truly pass for a voice.

The four mortals didn't dare answer it, lest they break the web of concentration strung between them.

The blonde one, the little one, however, did look up, seeming to say with her eyes, "I know."

It attempted to scream, but remembered that it had been thousands of years since it had been able to do so. And instead, an unholy noise like the wind through dead trees and leaves against stone pierced the ears of the four. And they still didn't falter, though at this the blonde one almost dropped her drum.

But before the older woman's growing net of glowing magic could enclose the shadow, it swept wildly to the side and knocked the blonde one to the floor.

Impa, the ever protective, almost cried out to the Princess. But, she knew that it would have effectively ended the chant and consequentially the spell, and she managed to put these protective urges aside as the more encouraged magic encased Bongo Bongo the shadow demon, and brought it thrashing toward the well.

When it happened, all was silent for a split second, the drumming suddenly stopped. And then, there was a blast of dark energy, and the three still standing figures were knocked to the floor.

And there was no movement nor sound for another moment.

The Princess was the first one to open her eyes, and she glanced around as she painful sat up. Happily, she noted the distinct lack of a certain shadow beast.

She had bested It, at last.

"Ha, ha," was the only thing April managed before she abruptly collapsed back to the hard ground.

Stupid FF.net is messing up my asterick marks!!! bangs head on desk

Oookay… a short little pointless romp of the Princess's adventures during the Seven Years. But I wanted to give April a chance to defeat Bongo Bongo somewhere in the story. And here, I saw an opportunity.

All right, I KNOW I've promised like a million times that "This fic will get updated, and blah di blah di blah di BLA DI BLA DI BLAH…" But now, as it is finished, I CAN actually promise something. All I need from your end of the bargain is reviews. Really people; it's finished for me. I'm done, and I can read it any time I want. I'm not retyping the who last… oh, twenty pages or so, just for my health. Everything for my lovely readers! And now that it's summer, I actually CAN!

Hehehe?


	28. The Goddess's Explanation

La la la.... 

All right. I'm sorry. 

I'm FINALLY able to use Lotus to get HTML formats. Which means I'm going to forget the project of retyping it, and just am going to post what I already have. 

This chapter had a different version, with a better explanation. But I've lost it; aka my computer ate it. 

Enjoy!!

* * *

In Vaiya's house, a familiar party was celebrating Princess Zelda's fourteenth birthday in a rather unusual way. 

"Impa, why couldn't we have just put all that training and strength I had to learn these Din-damned years into the disguise!?!?" April rushed the last part of that sentence, almost screaming. 

"You can't Glamour abilities, Princess. You knew that when you agreed to all this." Sheik smirked. 

She glared at him. "Shaddup, you. You're just angry that I'm a prettier you than you are." 

Sheik glared at her playfully. 

For her birthday, April hadn't wanted to simply celebrate by resting and having a special dinner. No; the Princess had decided that she had wanted to finally attempt to use the disguise, specifically the spelled Glamour, they had been working on for a time, as it was finally completed. 

When they had cast the beta-spell, April had been quite impressed with her transformation, as had been everyone else. She appeared about a foot taller than she was normally, and she looked to be an older version of Sheik. They had rummaged through some old clothes that Vaiya had had laying around, and had found a traditional Sheikah warrior outfit, complete with the traditional scarf that Sheikah men wore. That had been translated into the spell, as well. 

And then April had wanted to test this guise to see if she was able to move in the same way that she was when she was herself. She had found that she, indeed, could do this. 

But then she had discovered that her disguise made it much easier to imitate some of the fighting style she had learned. And they had all found that a bit odd. As per her character, she blamed circumstances out of her control, saying that it probably would have been possible to put more of these abilities into the disguise. 

Of course, her companions had been all too happy to point out this faulty logic to her. 

As Impa, Vaiya, April and Sheik sat down to dinner than night, Vaiya started up a discussion about yet more things she had Seen in their future. 

"You know that you will be going to Hyrule when the Hero of Time awakens, right Princess?" the Seer asked, taking a bite of a roll. 

"Oh, yeah. I've known for a while, now." 

"Good," Vaiya said. 

"What exactly do these visits to Hyrule entail, may I ask?" Impa prompted, sitting directly across from the Princess. 

"Well, basically," April began. "I'm going to go and guide him through the time between the Temples. You know; teach him the songs and stuff." 

"Ah," Impa said. 

"And how will you know when he's going to need your help?" Sheik asked. 

April shrugged. "I dunno." 

"I do," Vaiya interjected. "I Saw it a while ago, but as soon as the Hero of Time needs your help, it'll be like an alarm going off." 

April paled slightly as she realized something about that statement. 

"If that happens, and I'm here..." she begun. 

But Vaiya stopped her. "Actually, that alarm is going to be kind of like a vision. You'll know in enough time to get to wherever he might be." 

"Really?" April asked, slightly relieved. 

"Stranger things have happened," Vaiya responded. "It's no surprise to me that your Triforce would do anything to make sure that the Holder of it's counterpart is safe." 

"You know that Link has the Triforce of Courage!?" the Princess cried, slamming her hands down on the table in an unintentional expression of surprise. 

Vaiya blinked, saying only, "Of course." 

And then April recoiled slightly, thinking how very obvious that had been. 

Later on, when April had gone to bed, she had been overly exited about the time to come, when she would finally be able to return to Hyrule and put the disguise to use.

* * *

April looked around. The sky, or whatever it was, was fuzzy and gray. She recognized it immediately as the place in which she had spoken to Nayru in for the first time. Around the 'sky,' in random places, shone beams of light in various colors. They seemed almost hopeful. April thought that, maybe, this place represented the state of Hyrule. It was mostly dark, as it had been when she's first spoken to Nayru, but there was still the light of hope. 

She looked up, already mentally expecting the figure she now saw standing there. 

_Greetings_. Nayru called to her, calmly. 

The Princess didn't so much as blink. _Did you call me here?_ she asked. 

_Right to the point, as always._ The Goddess smiled. _And to answer you, yes. _

April smirked, not really knowing why. 

_I have figured something out. I think I may have been helped in this knowledge by the memories that you seem to have all but lost._

April looked at the nonexistent ground. 

_You came here, to our dimension, for two simple reasons. It was what Destiny needed. And.... It was what you wanted._

She nearly snapped her neck looking up in the next second. _WHAT!?_

The Goddess looked... almost sheepish. _Of course, it is not that simple.... How to explain? Well, to begin with, it is probably obvious to you that my Sisters and I knew that the Princess of Destiny would be Zelda. Am I correct in thinking this? _

April only nodded. 

_Right. Well, the Zelda that was born to Hyrule was... How shall I put this... Incomplete, in a way. She rarely spoke, she kept to herself, and to most, it seemed as if she didn't have a mind of her own at all. In a way, she was the perfect little lady of the Court; seen and not heard._

Nayru paused at this point. April waited, screaming only on the inside, for the explanation she had been waiting to hear for years. 

_Destiny and Fate obviously decided that this would not do for the situation They knew was arising in Hyrule. Hyrule needed a Hero, which they received in the Kokiri boy called Link, but they also needed a strong figure to clean up the mess and guide the Hero._

_Which would be the Princess of Destiny._ April concluded. 

_Correct. Simply put, the Zelda of Hyrule before you arrived did not fit the job description. As it were... Destiny decided that she would bring somebody else into play. Of course, She would not simply "get rid" of her chosen Princess; She would augment her; mind and soul._

_What I am saying is that you, with your close connection to our world through your "game," were picked because of your desire for something more in your own life. You see, Destiny does not have barriers. She works through all times, places, dimensions... It is all the same to Her._

April stopped the Goddess at this point. _Wait. So, what you're saying is... that I was PICKED, out of the six and some odd billion people on Earth to come here, to Hyrule? _

_Of course. I knew about this when it happened. Destiny..... Hm, explanations...... Well, She almost literally plucked your soul out of your body and brought it here._

_To another reality?_ April boggled. 

_What is reality, Princess?_

Silence for a moment. 

_Ultimatly,_ continued the Goddess._ ... Zelda knew about it, as well. She had started to have visions and things from a young age, but these dreams of The Legend scared her. She knew that she was not... strong enough to handle something like this when the fate of Hyrule was riding on it. So, right before the night you came to Hyrule and had a dream of her vision, that incomplete Zelda prayed to me. She asked for guidance... and someone or something to come and help what she knew was a dire situation. _

April only stared, listening. 

_Of course, I heard. Destiny heard this more magnified, through me. It was then that We decided to take matters into Our hands._

_We do not always like interfering with the world We've created. Life, as it is, it not meant to be tampered with, even by its creators. But even Destiny saw the need in this situation. Even if Hyrule and its plain of existence is only one of millions, it is still important to Her. Hyrule, being a center of this world, it important to it all. If someone like Ganon had been there to take the Triforce, and someone like the Zelda you have come to know had not been there to take part of it from him... to split it..._

_Hyrule would have been doomed._ April said. 

_Destiny spoke to Zelda that night. And Zelda agreed to leave her body, abilities, memories... everything to this new presence that would add to her powers. Because, you know, it was not as if she wasn't powerful. She had the same magical ability and vision that you possess now. It was that incompleteness that stopped her from feeling able to complete this task. She needed the fire of a soul like yours._

_Like a boost of energy..._ April wondered 'aloud.' 

_Additionally. Your, ah.... rather unfair knowledge of Hyrule's situation could not hurt in bringing strength to the Princess of Destiny. Her psychic abilities were strong, but with the way you seemed to memorize the "plot" of this Legend..._

Nayru sighed, and April echoed the gesture. 

_She left a small part of her original person in your mind. That vision of Zelda you had on the day you spoke to Ganondorf in your garden; that was the original, unaltered Princess. She thought it would be a good thing to leave that just in case the "new" Zelda became as uninspired as she had once been._

_Wouldn't people notice this new "change" in Zelda's personality, though_? April asked, incredulous. 

Nayru seemed to consider this for a moment. _Impa noticed. She has taken care of Zelda for her entire life, so the change was more obvious to her than to anyone else. However, she attributed this to the change in Hyrule's situation. She knew that having visions like you did at that time must have put something rather drastic through your mind. She most likely did not wish to alarm you by asking why you were acting out of the ordinary. And, you did not see enough of any other people in Zelda's life for them to notice any great change. _

_Oh,_ was April's simple response. 

A brief pause, before April decided to voice her ideas on this subject. 

_Basically... I'm just a small part of this big plot like everyone else is._ As April slowly realized just what she was trying to say, the words came more easily. _I lost my life and identity for a greater purpose, taking someone else's in the process. I'm not..._ - She struggled with the word - _April, but I'm not Zelda, either._

The Goddess's eyes began to glow with a knowing and divine light. _No. _

April jumped right out of her train of thoughts at this simple, yet forceful, word. 

_You, just as every other living being in this Universe and all others, played your part in the grand scheme of Life. You were never meant to be April of Earth. Do you think that Destiny makes mistakes? You were meant and chosen to be Zelda of Hyrule!_

Eyes wide, April looked straight into Nayru's eyes; blue with the color of Time and infinite wisdom. 

It was clear in a moment. April's soul had combined with Zelda's body and her memories. And since a persin is technically made up of their memories, Zelda as she was never really disappeared. It had just taken a long time for the new combination that was Zelda to realize its old memories, and to loose all of the ones that it hadn't need. Now, all Zelda had was the knowledge that part of her, at least, had been a thirteen year old girl named April. The only reason this mattered at all was because it had mattered enough to Destiny to change her. 

And suddenly, any question left concerning the "had been" became fact. 

Zelda stopped being April. 

_You've come to accept it fully. Finally._ A pause. And then the Goddess smiled. _This can only make things easier for you. You do not have to be two people. It is enough to deal with two identities; you do not need three. _

Wondering what in the world she could be talking about, the Princess suddenly remembered the rest of the world. With that came the memory of their recent attempt at creating her alter (not to mention borrowed) persona; Sheik. 

And Zelda, the Princess of Hyrule, smiled. 

_I'm going to wake up now._

Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom, smiled as well. 

_Destiny go with you, my Daughter._

And with that, Zelda was awake.

* * *

Well.... I've had people ask me why April was here in the first place since the beginning. And now you know. I wasn't originally planning on a scene like this; I was going to have her just figure it out. But that was too hard. () So, here is this. And just so you know.... We're only a few chapters away from the end. 

Cheers! 

SailorZelda


	29. Time Passes

Okay, a roundup of the last three years, concluding with something I'm sure you've all been waiting for. (Oh, and you may realize that I start calling April "Zelda" more and more. Well, if you read the last chapter, you'll know that by this point... She is. Pretty much. Of course, when you combine two personalities... Ah, well. Just don't get confused if you see both names in the same relative area. They are one and the same, at this point.)

* * *

Three years passed remarkably quick. 

Zelda had never been one to think that Time passed quickly. But when it happened this way, she suddenly found herself a nearly-grown woman. 

During the last three years of her seven year, forced exile, she had grown into the frame of the Princess of Destiny that so many were relying on. Her face had matured, and her eyes suddenly held more wisdom than they had at the start of the ordeal. They had gradually changed into a shade of dark blue; full of darkness and depth, but shining with an inner light, like midnight riddled with stars. 

Vaiya had noted that the day after her fourteenth birthday, she had seemed more at peace with the world than she ever had in the past. 

Little did the Sheikah Seer know that the Princess had finally accepted herself as not only a girl, but just that which everyone knew her as; a Princess. 

Once she realized, with some help from her mystical benefactor, that she could be herself and royalty, she was much more effective in other aspects of her life as well. She advanced far beyond anyone's expectations in magic, music, and the arts of war, particularly archery. 

And Time passed so quickly that she scarcely realized she was growing up. 

The week of her seventeenth birthday, she had finally scrutinized herself in a mirror the way most teenagers do. And she found that she was surprised by what she saw there. 

She saw someone who looked to be a strong young woman, someone who might be able to lead the Hylian people to a victory against Ganondorf. 

At the time, as well, she begun to contemplate the states of her companions, who also seemed to have matured alongside her. 

Impa had remained much the same as she had been when April first met her. Though, the Princess realized, she was having some difficulty being forced to be away from Hyrule for so long. But then, so was the girl, herself... 

Vaiya, five years her senior, had become a fine young woman, and a figure of prominence in the Sheikah civilization. And though she had always appeared much more mature than her current age, at twenty-two, the Seer was an almost ideal example of a self-sufficient and wise woman. 

Sheik, well... He had grown in much the way that Zelda, herself, had. He still remained a bit quiet, and sarcastic, but he had matured, as well. He was now taller than Zelda was, and even taller than the height Zelda took on when she was disguised as him. And the Princess probably would have found him quite nice to look at if she took the time to look. And she loved him dearly, as a friend. 

However, the Princess was still saving her heart for someone else, despite how naive and stupid it may have seemed to others. 

Of course, she didn't particularly care. 

The night of the day after her seventeenth birthday, she had gone to bed with an inexplicable knot in her stomach. It was as if something big was going to happen the next day. And she could venture a pretty good educated guess as to what it was going to be.

* * *

Zelda looked around, realizing that she was seeing the interior of a place she recognized immediately; the Chamber of Sages. 

_Holy. Crumbs._ she 'thought,' her voice echoing around the blackness. 

She quickly realized that this was the same type of vision she had received right before Link had been taken into the Sacred Realm. So, it was easy for her to understand that what she was seeing was in the present. 

A figure stood in the middle of the 'main' platform of blue... mystical... water. The girl also immediately recognized this figure. 

Rauru. This thought occurred to her immediately and without hesitation, and it also echoed around the surroundings. 

To her near- surprise, Rauru looked up in her general direction. 

"Ah. Queen Zelda. I expected you to be arriving soon." 

Had April a jaw at the moment, it would have been on the nonexistant floor. 

Rauru grinned, his mustache and the lines around his eyes nearly making his eyes disappear. April discovered that she liked the expression of this old man, the Sage of Light. It was one of the few genuinely kind faces she had seen new to her in a long time. 

"Perhaps you did not remember. Tonight is the night." 

April knew what he meant, but continued to listen, anyway. 

"Exactly seven years ago, someone was brought here under the pretenses of saving the world." A slight chuckle. "That someone, the Hero of Time, will be awakened come morning." 

_I understand,_ April thought. _I'm going to meet him when he wakes up. At the Temple of Time. _

"Right. Go, Zelda. Awaken. And may the Goddesses be with thee." 

April couldn't help but smile as everything faded to black.

* * *

Despite the calm atmosphere of her dream, Zelda woke up with a cold sweat pouring down her back. 

She could tell by the soft, gray light that it was just before dawn. It was bitter cold in her room, but her mass of blankets kept out most of that chill. And she knew that the Hero of Time would be awakening any moment. 

Quickly hopping out of bed, ignoring the cold and throwing the covers into a disarray, she pulled on a simple dress and threw her hair into a hurried ponytail, knowing that it wouldn't be necessary. 

"VAIYA!!" she called, running down the stairs. 

She found the seer at the table, nursing a cup of tea. And though she hadn't known that Vaiya would be awake at this hour of the morning, she suspected that Vaiya had felt it, too. 

Looking very tired, Vaiya glanced up from her cup with an ironic smile. 

"There's no need to shout, Zelda." 

"I know," the young woman sighed, looking frantically around the kitchen. 

"The Harp?" Vaiya asked. And then she jerked her thumb backward, toward the door, to the table with a small bundle resting precariously on it. "In that pack. Along with several Deku Nuts. I know you'll probably be needing them." 

"Thank you!" Zelda cried, throwing her arms around the woman's neck briefly, before straightening up and all but running toward the door. 

"Tell Impa and Sheik where I am, okay!?" she called as she slammed the door behind here and ran toward the house of Elders. 

"Like I would dream of anything else," Vaiya muttered into her tea, rolling her eyes.

* * *

__

__

She remembered the time well, when the Hero of Time had first been sealed in the Realm of Light. It had been mid-spring, though still muddy from melted snow, the year he had been taken from her. Though now, one wouldn't even guess it was spring, standing in the middle of the once-prosperous Hyrule Market. Redeads and charred remains of buildings were the only occupants of the city now. The Glamoured Princess sighed, mourning the loss of the happy people who had once occupied the space. 

Zelda , however, was standing at the doorway of the Temple of Time, not daring to go any further from her only protection from the evil that Ganon had made of her home. 

Turning back to the pure white stone of the Temple, she noted the morning light was pouring in through the tall, glass windows. It was quite cheerless inside the structure, however, as she paced around in waiting. 

Abruptly, she felt the whole structure shake. 

"Oh, Din," she said aloud, running toward the room that had once held the Master Sword.

* * *

Hehehehe... outright cackling You know, it's fun to be near a climax of a story like this. It's gone on forever. And it's time for it to be over. 

Especially with the way I've neglected the poor thing. Pets 'Destiny' 

Questions, comments, concerns? 

SailorZelda 


	30. Link's Awakening

We all knew it was coming. And heeeeere it is.

* * *

Zelda crouched in the shadows of an octagonal room, pressing herself as far into the darkness as was possible as she stared upward at a brilliantly blue light. 

From the Realm above Hyrule, a figure descended, looking very much as she had always pictured it would. 

Link, the Hero of Time, had awakened. 

There was completely silence as soft leather boots hit the stone alter. 

"Holy Farore," Link finally muttered, glancing around in a state of awe. 

"Link.... We're back in the Temple of Time!" shouted a small bundle of light hovering at his shoulder. 

"Looks like it," the Hero responded. "...but what do we do now?" 

As if in response to this question, the disguised Hylian Princess stepped forward, deliberately making her footsteps louder than they needed to be. 

A hand shot up instinctively to the sword that was sheathed on Link's back, and he drew the legendary blade as he spun around with a dangerous look in his suddenly darkened eyes. 

There was silence for another moment as neither said anything, Link not re-sheathing his sword and the figure in the shadows not saying anything. 

"Greetings, Hero of Time," the shadow finally said, shattering the silence. 

Link looked at the person before him, lowering his sword but distinctively not putting it away. "Who are you?" he asked, bluntly. 

"A Shadow," the young man who was not really that answered. "A member of the long forgotten race, loyal to the Hylian Royal Family; the Sheikah." 

Link only glared, not quite trusting this mysterious stranger as of yet. 

Zelda, meanwhile, was studying the boy she saw before her. But then, she abruptly realized that this figure was not at all the boy she had last seen seven years ago. He had grown into the very figure of someone made for battle, and his face left nothing of a question of how quickly he could kill her, if he wanted to. He wore the same Kokiri attire that he had seven years ago, but it was of course made for someone of his size, and it had several changed made to it to make it look not quite so... childish. Leather gauntlets covered his wrists, and he wore a green cap that hid most of his unruly blonde hair. His eyes were at the same time those of someone bred to kill, and of the child trapped in the body of an adult.  
And without realizing it, Zelda was saying, "You really do look like the Hero of Time." 

Clearing her throat only slightly, feeling that underneath the scarf she was blushing violently, she started off on a minimalist explanation of exactly what the Hero should be doing. The trademark Sheikah obscurity was present in full force, and Link found himself, at the end of it, asking... 

"And where should I go next?" 

Zelda was slightly taken aback, but replied, "To Kakariko. There is someone there who can provide you with the weapon you will need to gain access to the Forest Temple." 

"Good luck, Hero," Sheik said, stepping back to throw a Deku Nut and effectively disappear. 

Link stared, wide eyed, at the spot where that mystery figure had been only seconds before. 

"Well, that was weird," he said. 

"Very," Navi replied, sitting on his shoulder. 

"...Should we go to Kakariko?" Link asked, looking around the room for any sign of the Sheikah. 

"There isn't anything better we can be doing right now, is there?" the fairy asked, slightly irritable. "Unless that Sheik person was lying... But for some reason, I don't think he was." 

Link made an uncertain 'hm' noise in his throat, and started toward the exit of the Temple of Time. 

Meanwhile, on a plain of changed air above the said same Temple, the Princess of Hyrule looked down on the exiting figure, knowing that she wouldn't be seen.

* * *

For seven years, April had lived a largely uneventful life. Sure, she had tried to keep herself as busy was possible, but she had never had so many things to do that she felt that she was buried in things that needed her attention. 

Now, though, she jumped every time someone called her name, expecting that call to be one of a mysterious voice, summoning her yet again to Hyrule. 

It didn't take more than a week for Link to get through the Forest Temple. And Sheik was quickly needed on Death Mountain to teach the Bolero of Fire to the Hero. 

While he was away in the Fire Temple, Zelda, disguised as Sheik, made her way to Zora domain, to observe the damage that had been done there. 

And what she found was truly shocking. 

The ice that positively dripped from every corner of the large cavern was so cold that April wondered if it hadn't somehow been made colder by the evil that had caused it. Though it did make for some particularly beautiful reflections of light, an air of death surrounded the once lively domain. 

And the first frozen Zora that she came across, standing on a lone island in the middle of the glaringly bright, cavernous room, was the Zora Princess. 

The Hylian Princess shook her head, recalling something that the Zora Princess had said just under four years ago. 

"You can handle yourself, huh?" Zelda smiled sadly as she set about freeing Ruto from the ice. 

When she had used magic to chip the ice away, the Zora immediately let out a scream of terror. But she stopped abruptly, the sound of the scream echoing eerily around the cavern. 

Ruto looked around wildly, and the first thing she saw was the figure of a young Sheikah. 

"You!" she demanded imperiously. "What's going on here!?" 

Zelda blinked beneath the disguise, wondering how there was so much life in her after having been frozen for who knew how long. 

"Princess Ruto, I am a servant of the Royals of Hyrule. There is no need for you to fear me." 

The Zora looked into crimson eyes suspiciously, but she looked away when she couldn't sense any note of false truth. 

"Well, then," she began, haughtily. "Can you tell me what exactly happened here?" 

"Zora's domain has been frozen over-" 

"I can see that, you half-wit." 

Sheik glared at the Zora Princess, but continued unfazed. "...by the current King of Hyrule. Ganondorf. He has brought ruin to much of Hyrule, but Zora's Domain has possibly been the most affected these last seven years." 

Ruto took the time to look around at her beloved home, before she quickly started walking toward the exit. 

"Hey!" Zelda called out, briefly loosing her Sheikah composure. "Where are you going?" 

"The Water Temple," Ruto answered. But she turned around right before she reached the outside. Her figure was framed by white light, and for a moment, April thought that she looked like a ghost. 

"As Princess to the Zora, I'm going to be the one to save them." She looked around one last time, eyes suddenly filling with concern, and she concluded, "Can you see what you can do for my father?" 

"I'll do everything in my power, Princess Ruto." 

"Oh, and by the way.... What's your name?" 

The blond figure smile. "Sheik." 

Ruto nodded. "Thank you, Sheik." 

With that, the Zora was gone. 

And Zelda was left standing in the very cold Zora's Domain, wondering how in the world Ruto could have still been alive.

* * *

Yes, short. I did that on purpose. I really needed to get on with it, you know!! 

Um... we're counting about three chapters and an Epilogue left. 

Yeah... and that's all. 

SailorZelda


	31. Zelda Is Once Again One Single Persona

You have to understand that I never meant this to be a novelization of Ocarina of Time or of Zelda's seven year quest thingy. It was more about the plot that just came up here, which means that I'm going to skip directly to the fight with Ganon. 

I mean, you all know what happened in the game. There's no need to tell the details, because it's not important to the story.

* * *

Much, much sooner than she would have thought possible, Link had defeated the last of the Temples. 

It had only taken all of four months, but it was finished. And Zelda, disguised as Sheik, waited for the Hero of Time in the Temple of Time, so she could finally reveal the truth behind everything. 

She was deathly afraid of what was to come. 

At various times during the last three years, she had come to forget the she had once been a thirteen year old girl named April. (And the only way, she supposed, that she would remember his fact in the future would be in the writings she had left herself in her journal.) But whenever she did, she remembered that she didn't have any idea what was to pass after she revealed herself to the Hero of Time. 

If she even did get that chance. 

But as she saw him running into the Temple like his life depended on it, she stepped out of the shadows, and was ready to reveal her plight. 

"I've been waiting for you, Hero of Time," Sheik said, stepping behind Link as he entered the Temple. 

"Sheik?" Link called, turning around and looking somewhat confused. 

"First of all," the Sheikah said, stepping forward, "I know that you were probably expecting to find someone else here. However, there are things which you need to know first." 

"You are aware of the legends of the Triforce." 

Link nodded. 

"What you might not be aware of is that Ganondorf, the King of Evil, does not own it in its entirety."  
Link's eyes widened with something like relief. And confusion. 

Something which she had seen all too often in those eyes. 

But she was going to remedy that, very shortly. 

"On the night Ganondorf invaded Hyrule Castle, he also entered the Sacred Realm after you had opened it." 

Link winced slightly. 

"However, he didn't gain all of the Triforce. As legend says, if one with en evil heart should touch the sacred triangle, only the force in which he believes most will be granted to him. And Ganondorf only received the Triforce of Power." 

Link was being oddly silent. 

"And if you haven't guessed.... The Triforce of Courage. The holder of that Triforce is..." A pause for effect. "You, Link." 

At that moment, there was a small flash of light from Link's left hand, and there was abruptly a softly glowing triangle there, etched into his hand like a tattoo, only it was visible even through his gauntlets. 

"And the Holder of the Triforce of Wisdom," Sheik continued. "Would be none other than the newly awakened Seventh Sage... Destined to be the leader of them all." 

With that, Sheik held up a gloved hand to reveal a glowing triangle similar to Link's. It grew brighter, however, and within a moment, it was too bright for Link to be able to look at it. 

But when he looked back, he almost tripped from the shock. 

In the place that Sheik had stood only moments before, there now stood a young woman, about his age and only half a head shorter than he was. She was dressed elaborately in fine clothes; a white skirt and lavender tunic-like covering, long white gloves, and gold-tinted shoulder armor that told of her readiness for danger. 

Her hair was a brilliant shade of dark gold, and it was held back from her face with a royal diadem. And everywhere, she was covered in the symbols of the Hylian Royal Line. 

She smiled a half smile, nervously wondering what he was thinking. And after a silence, he managed to say, "Zelda?" 

Smiling wider, she affirmed, "That's me." 

"I- I mean, you... Wow," he stumbled, looking closely at her for a moment. 

"I apologize for having to meet with you in disguise like this," Zelda said, lowering her own gaze. "But until my powers as the Seventh Sage were awakened, it wasn't safe for me to be seen as myself." 

"Understandable," Link said automatically, still in a state of extreme surprise. 

"But now..." she said, wondering where she could begin. 

She decided to take a different approach, explaining what had happened seven years ago. "Back when I had first started us on this whole mess, I didn't really think about the consequences that it might have." She continued staring at the floor, suddenly feeling very guilty that she had taken his childhood away from him. "And I was so young... I couldn't really understand that an evil like Ganondorf could have emerged to take what I had sought to protect." 

She dared to look up, noticing that he still wasn't looking at her. 

"...Are you mad?" she asked, without thinking. 

He abruptly looked up, blond hair flying with the quick motion. "Of course not. Why would you ask?" 

She stuttered slightly, not knowing exactly why. 

"Because... I dragged you into this whole thing." 

"Hey," he said, grinning reassuringly at her in a fashion that reminded her very much of the little Kokiri she had met so long ago. "That was Destiny, not you." 

Zelda cracked a small smile, her eyes a bit bright with unshed tears of relief and confusion. 

"And there wasn't anything two kids like us could have done to stop this all from happening," Link continued, throwing his arms up in a gesture of acceptance. 

"Now there is something, though," Zelda said, suddenly acutely aware of why she had come here today. "We can beat Ganondorf with the powers of the Sages that you have awakened." 

Link only nodded, and Zelda could see the fire of hatred begin to burn in those crystalline blue eyes. 

"We can beat Ganondorf," she said, softly. 

"Good," he said. "I was hoping I didn't run around for this long just to watch him corrupt Hyrule some more." 

"And there's something I forgot!" she said suddenly, stepping back. "There's a weapon that you can use to slow him down while we do our part to seal him in the Dark Realm. The sacred weapon that no evil can escape... The Arrow of Light!" 

Putting both arms up in the air, more for show than anything else, really, Zelda summoned the Light Arrows from a pocket of space she had been using to store them. 

About a year before, she had come across the spell for enchanting arrows with the Power of Light. One day, on a page of the Book, it had just appeared. It never happened that way for no reason, so Zelda decided to use it to her advantage. 

The arrow appeared with a flash of, what else?, light. And it hovered in the air between them before deciding that it wanted to hover in Link's direction. It stayed there for a moment, as the Hero didn't dare to move. 

"Take it, you dummy," Zelda prompted. 

With that, Link reached out and took the glowing object, putting the arrow into a quiver at his back. 

"That should go well with the other two," April said, slightly ironic. 

He raised his eyebrows slightly, wondering how she knew that there were other magic arrows in his possession. 

But then... 'Duh,' he thought. 'Triforce of Wisdom.' 

And after another brief silence, Link asked, "So, how are we going to go about defeating his Royal Lowliness?" 

Zelda smiled, launching into a plan of action. "Well-" 

Unfortunately, her explanation was cut far too short, as the Temple of Time seemed to lurch to the side. 

"What the-!?" Zelda shouted, falling forward after tripping over her skirt, only to have Link catch her arms and prevent her from flying to the floor. 

"What is that!?" Link shouted above the grinding noise of moving stones. 

"I don't kn-!" 

But suddenly, she did. 

With a low, gradually intensifying laugh, a dark presence made itself known. And the laughter almost turned into outright cackling as Zelda unconsciously held closer to the one supporting her. 

"No. No no no no..." she said, growing pale. "Not now... Not after all of that...." 

As the voice finally decided to speak, Zelda shook. 

"I knew I would find you, traitor, if I let this kid run around for a while." 

Link stepped back from Zelda, looking around the Temple and shouting, "Ganondorf! Show yourself!" 

"I'd almost applaud your efforts, traitors..." Zelda twitched at the second mention of the word. "But did you really think there was anything you could have done to stop me?" 

With that, a pink energy surrounded the Hylian Princess, shrinking into the form of a crystal. 

Zelda didn't say anything, as the energy of the pink crystal sent shock waves of pain through her body. Her eyes rolled back in their sockets, and she was motionless. 

"Din damn it!" Link shouted, jumping toward it and pounding it in an attempt to shatter what looked like glass, but wasn't. 

"Come to my castle if you're brave enough, and face me, Hero!" Ganondorf laughed, his voice gradually fading away as the crystal containing Zelda floated up and disappeared into oblivion. 

Link shouted wordlessly up at what was already gone, and it was useless.

* * *

When she awoke, it was to a head-splitting pain and the droning music of a badly played organ. 

"What in the seven hells....?" April muttered, holding her head, realizing that she was standing inside something that looked rather like a diamond. 

"Welcome to my Court, Princess Zelda," said a voice to her right. 

She tried to turn her head quickly, but all she managed to do was to make herself dizzy. However, she didn't fall, as the energy in the crystal kept her standing up. 

"Don't overexert yourself, my lady," he said in pure sarcasm. "You'll need that energy when that lovely Triforce is ripped out of you." 

"Link's gonna kick your ass," she said without hesitation. 

The Dark King only laughed cruelly as he continued his dark song. 

"I'm sure that's what you and your Sages want to believe," he explained. "But I know something that you don't." 

"Oh?" the Princess asked. "And what's that?" 

"That you will not be able to kill me." 

Zelda narrowed her eyes in anger and frustration. 

And they both waited.

* * *

I'm evil. Hahahaha!


	32. Ganon

She watched as the cause of all her misery took its dying breath and finally collapse on the cold tile floor. So deep ran her hatred of the man that she didn't begin to notice anything else until the pink started to clear from her vision. She felt herself floating down, and, finally, the rest of the crystal disintegrated. She was partially aware that the remaining parts of the glass ceiling were going, too, but that didn't matter. 

It had been a brief and yet incredibly violent fight; something that Zelda didn't want to recall. Ganondorf had put up an amazingly strong defense, but Link pulled through for Hyrule in the end. There wasn't anything Ganondorf could do once the fury of the Hero of Time had been fully unleashed. 

And at that moment, she remembered him. 

The second she looked away from the dying Ganondorf and towards her savior, she felt the smallest smile playing upon her lips. He looked so tired and utterly spent, but he was still Link. He must have felt her looking at him, because he glanced in her direction as she started walking towards him. 

She looked again at the being on the floor in front of them. 

"Ganondorf, pitiful man," she spat. "Without any kind of soul, that Triforce he held could not be controlled... No wonder the other two chose not to follow him." 

Link didn't say anything in response, but she didn't blame him. Killing another human being, however twisted that being may have been, must have been extremely difficult for someone with the soul she knew he had. 

She glanced down at her own hand and saw the Triforce mark dully glowing, at Link's, and finally at Ganondorf's. Slightly surprised that his mark was still glowing, she turned to look at Link. She saw that he was looking in the same direction. This was not over yet, she knew that much. She had known this the moment he "died." That was probably why her mind wouldn't allow her to celebrate just yet. She was about to add something when the castle shook violently. 

Catching her balance, she turned importantly towards the staircase leading to the bottom of the castle. 

"I thought this was going to happen," she said, eyes narrowed. "With his last breath, Ganondorf is trying to bring us down with his fortress." She looked up at Link and continued. "I know the way out. Follow me." 

With that, she turned around and began to run. 

'Curious,' the obscure part of her mind that had been April mused, 'that I'm able to remember an exact path through this place that I didn't really think I ever knew, even though it's completely twisted and decayed, now.' 

And the Princess of Destiny and the Hero of Time ran through the falling Castle, years of ancient artwork and recent corruption crumbling easily in accordance to the dying with of the King of Evil, until the last of their energy was utterly spent, and they practically threw themselves out of the door and onto a cold, but welcome, dirt path outside. 

Zelda heard the rumbling increase, and the moment she looked back, she saw what was no longer Hyrule Castle begin to collapse upon itself. The towers fell, and crashed through windows that were practically no longer there. And when the dust settled, there was only rubble. 

She stared into the mess, attempting to stand up. She knew that Link had already stood up, but she pulled herself off the ground in the thick silence that followed the Castle's collapse. 

Then, she heard a slight noise from behind here. 

"Somehow, I really don't think he survived that." 

Zelda tried to work her jaw, finding it very difficult. 

"True," she managed. 

And the silence increased as Zelda realized something. 

'It's over,' a small part of herself said. 

And she chose to voice it aloud. 

"It's over... It's finally over." 

With that, a small smile spread across her lips once again, and she looked to her right, where Link was suddenly standing. 

Suddenly, a soul filling joy overwhelmed her, and she let out a whoop of pure happiness, effectively shattering the silence. 

"It's OVER!!!" she called into the remains of the Castle, the cry echoing merrily back at her. And then the Princess ran forward with no particular destination, jumping up and skipping a bit as she did so. Her mantra of "It's over, it's over!" repeated several times, and then she suddenly spun back on her heel and said- 

"You!" 

She ran back in the direction from which she had come, almost colliding with him but stopping herself effectively by throwing her arms around his neck. This, because of her momentum, of course caused them both to go crashing towards the dirt once again. 

Not letting this deter her, she, in her happiness, kissed him and then embraced him before suddenly pulling them both back up to their feet, feeling more than a little bit silly. 

And she was still smiling with all the enthusiasm she had ever felt. 

Then, she suddenly jumped away from a rather surprised Link, looking at him with wide, midnight eyes. 

"Sorry. I shouldn't have done that," she said in apology. 

"No," Link said, his mouth twitching slightly in a smile. "That's okay." 

"Ack..." she muttered, turning around in thought. 

Technically, Link was still something of a ten year old trapped in the body of an adult. And though he had probably been forced to adapt to his role as such rather quickly, she knew that he probably didn't even think about her the same way she had thought about him. 

But she felt a hesitant hand on her shoulder, and she turned around to meet his gaze. Which, she noticed, looked surprisingly more mature than that of the child lost somewhere within him. 

He smiled suddenly, and she followed suit. And it was okay that they simply stood there like that for several moments. 

Zelda sighed, and was about to turn her head to look at the damage that had been done to her home. 

But then the ground shook. 

"No." She turned to look at Link, definitely. "No. Not... Nayru damn it, what is that?" she spat irritably. 

"I'd had a funny feeling," Link said, turning to the pile of rubble that had been the castle to look at it. 

After a moment of silence that crept its way into the Princess's every pore, a dark shadow crashed through the rubble and hovered in the air, breathing heavily. 

"Crap," the Princess said shortly. 

Ganondorf didn't say anything, but only held up his hand to reveal the very brightly glowing Triforce of Power. His whole body shook with the force of activating such a strength, and then his head was thrown backward as he cried out in an inhuman voice, transforming into something that wasn't human at all. 

The beast that emerged from Ganondorf's flesh was sturdily built, with giant limbs that Zelda though rather resembled trees. It's head was horned with curling, ram-like horns, and it had a snout like some kind of pig. It wore a crude, Gerudo looking outfit, and Zelda could only guess that this was Ganondorf's true form; the very evil which rested inside his soul. 

"Ganon," she whispered. 

A fight obviously ensued, and Link at first seemed largely outnumbered. A wall of magically fueled fire had sprung up between her and her Hero, but Zelda remained mostly unafraid. Then, she had abruptly thought of something, and had shouted to him that he should use the Light Arrows to slow the monster down. 

When that strategy started to become effective, Ganon roared inhumanly. 

Something had deterred the fight for a moment, however, when Ganon had gotten close enough to knock the Master Sword from Link's grip. 

"Dear goddesses!" Zelda had shouted, looking at the sword that had landed right beside her. But when she tried to even budge the blade to take it out of the ground, it burned the flesh of her hands even through the gloves. 

Now, she tried even harder to get it out of the hard packed dirt, but this particular sword obviously did not want to be touched by anyone but the Hero of Time. 

"I'm NOT EVIL, YOU STUPID TWIT!!" Zelda shouted at the Blade of Evil's Bane, as she gave the sword one last, defiant tug. Then she crossed her arms over her chest and tried to referee the fight. 

After what seemed like an eternity, in which the storm clouds that had gathered and darkened over the pit of rubble where the Castle had once stood, Link was able to gain the Master Sword back after a particularly nasty blow given to Ganon, after which the pig monster was forced to drop the barrier. 

And Link had made quick work of the beast after he had the trusted sword back. 

The barrier of fire dropped yet again, and Zelda saw her chance. 

The King of Evil fell, supported only by his own sword, as Link stood before him, glaring with pure hatred. 

The Triforce suddenly spoke through Zelda as she held up her arms to gather its energy and that of the other Sages she was able to channel through herself. She shot the bright, magical energy in Ganon's direction, and the beast was paralyzed. 

"Link!" Zelda called hurriedly. "I'm using this energy to stop him..." She ground her teeth together in effort, so hard she thought they might break. "Use that stupid sword to seal him, once and for all!! They won't be able to do it unless the Master Sword completes the seal!" 

The air was filled only by the humming of Zelda's white magic, and the heavy breathing of Ganon. 

"Are you going to let your little girlfriend tell you what to do!?" Ganon spat in a voice long past being human. 

"Yep," Link answered, driving the Master Sword directly into the center of the creature's skull. 

There was a terrible, dark silence, and the creature reeled backward in pure agony. 

"Six Sages!!!" Zelda called. "Now! Seal Ganon into the Dark Realm!!" 

Six different lights came forth from above; green, red, blue, purple, and orange, all driving the creature into a state of shock. One final, pure white light shot out of Zelda's open, shaking hand, before she collapsed to the floor, wondering how she had known how to do that. And with the energy of the Sages, his body disappeared, though his voice could still be heard. 

"DAMN YOU SAGES!! DAMN YOU, ZELDA!!!! And damn you, Link!!!" 

They tried to ignore it, knowing that the seal was working. 

"YOU KNOW YOU'LL NEVER BE FREE OF ME!!! YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL SUFFER BECAUSE OF YOUR FOOLISHNESS!!! AS LONG AS THE TRIFORCE OF POWER RESTS IN MY HAND..." 

His voice was gone. 

And it started to rain.

* * *

When Zelda opened her eyes, she was standing in what appeared to be the sky. 

It seemed that, after they had completed the seal, the land they were standing on had started to collapse. And Zelda had almost unconsciously used the only thing she knew of that could have saved the both of them from a rather violent death; the air changing spell. The first magic she had ever learned. 

And at the moment, the Princess and the Hero were staring down, far down below to the land of Hyrule. 

"This is going to be one mess of a cleanup," Link said, in an attempt at humor. 

Zelda only 'hm'ed indistinctly, agreeing completely. 

Yet, another force was tugging at the back of her mind, forcing her to address the issue at hand. 

Wondering how to being, she said in absolute sincerity, "Thank you, Link." 

He looked at her, and she suddenly realized how very tired he looked. "For what?" he asked. 

"Saving Hyrule? Sealing Ganondorf? Ring a bell, Hero?" she asked, laughingly. 

"Sure, but..." 

"We wouldn't have been able to do it without you." And then she stopped, and added, "I wouldn't have been able to do it without you." 

Link looked down at Hyrule, far below. "You looked after all of that for seven years. And you had to watch it fall into that kind of a state." 

"..." There was nothing to say. 

"All I had to do was sleep, and then kill a couple of things." 

"Are you really so arrogant," Zelda began. "That you actually believe you had as little to do with it as that?" 

Link raised his eyebrows at her. "It sounded an awfully lot like what you just said a second ago." 

Zelda rolled her eyes, glancing up. 

"Maybe we all give ourselves too little credit. Or, heck, I don't know. Too much of it. But now that everything is said and done..." 

She sighed, finding the courage to say it. "We have to go back, Link," she all but whispered. 

He didn't seem to hear her, until he turned his head sharply to meet her gaze. 

"What?" he asked. 

"I have to send Hyrule back to the way it was. Before all of this started." 

His eyes widened, but he didn't respond. 

"I can't just leave things like this," she said, remembering the few short sights she had seen of the decayed Hyrule, knowing that they were enough to support her theory. "Things have gone to far; to many have died, too much has changed..." 

"Yeah, but we can fix it all... I mean, we just saved the..... You can't just turn it back!" he said, growing defensive. 

Zelda remembered something she had read in the Book, the day before she had gone to meet him in the Temple of Time. 

'The Ocarina of Time, a gift of the gods, a magical conduit, and a weapon of the most dangerous sort, is a boat upon which one can sail through the river of Time. And if the wielder of such an instrument is powerful enough to re-forge events in a future, it will not take much effort for one to change the Past...' 

"The Ocarina," she said simply. 

"What about it," the Hero of Time asked, unconsciously reaching toward the pocket where it was safely kept. 

"With it, I can translate us all back into a past where none of this has happened." 

When Link started to protest, she explained. "With Ganon sealed in the Dark Realm, it won't matter that he wasn't sealed until this time. The magic is that strong." 

Zelda took a breath, feeling that she hadn't done so in far too long. The clean air almost burned her lungs. 

"I can take us back to a better Hyrule, one without Ganon, one without a need for the Sages and Destiny and the Hero. Of course, that will always remain a part of us, but..." She shook her head. "Our work is done here. We can do no more for this Hyrule." 

"Think of what we could do for one where this disaster never happened..." 

She didn't realize that she was almost crying until she suddenly had to bite back an onslaught of tears. 

"Please... understand, Link," she said quietly, feeling that she was asking for an understanding that she suddenly didn't deserve. "I want what's best for all of them... But I can't do it here. Not this time, this place... Hyrule is too far gone." 

"So..." Link began, speaking for the first time in a while. "We would all be sent back to the past, with the knowledge only that we were once the Heroes of Hyrule." 

Zelda nodded. 

He tried to say something else, but finally nodded in defeat. 

She smiled bitterly. 

"Give me the Ocarina," she commanded, softly. "With it, I can give Hyrule the chance it never had in this Time." After a pause, she added, "I can give you back a childhood that you never had." 

He hesitantly looked at the small, shining blue instrument, handing it over to the Princess of Hyrule. 

Zelda put her hand over his own, imploring him with her eyes to understand. 

The blue of Time met the blue of Wisdom, and the Princess of Destiny and the Hero of Time were locked in a moment of perfect understanding. 

However, before she took her hands away, he spoke one last time. 

"Why does Destiny rely so much on those she can't even protect from themselves?" he asked her, feeling on the verge of tears, even though he absolutely refused to cry in front of her. 

She, however, allowed a small sniffle. But then the laughed slightly, sadly, the tear at the corner of her eye finally falling. "Because that's the way you play the game... Hero." 

She removed her hands from his, taking the precious blue instrument with her. The Princess managed the simple, bittersweet twenty-nine notes of the song that would send him back; her song, Zelda's lullaby. She witnessed the blue light as he was taken away from her for the second time, wishing him a heartfelt farewell. 

And then she woke up. 

April, of Earth, woke up.

* * *

Um... ?whistles innocently?


	33. Exit April

When she looked around a dark bedroom that wasn't her own, April screamed shortly and felt her stomach drop to her feet. 

"WHAT IN THE DARK REALM!?" she yelled, spinning three-hundred-and-sixty degrees. 

The bed was a twin bed, piled with machine made comforters in a pattern like a tiger's skin. There were posters on the walls of singers that she didn't recognize and movie stars who meant nothing at all to her. The morning light told her, only by the way it looked, that it was still early summer. 

She was home. 

On Earth. 

April, Zelda of Hyrule only seconds before, started screaming at the top of her lungs. 

She heard thundering footsteps down the hall, and her sister threw open the door. 

The girl would have stopped screaming, but she only paused and then begun wailing again as she realized that she could not remember her sister's name. 

"What's your problem!?" the dark-haired girl named Margarita yelled over her sister's bawling. 

"WHERE AM I!?!?" April screamed. 

"At home, stupid!!!" 

That only provoked the girl's crying, and she collapsed suddenly onto the floor. 

Her sister, now concerned for April's sanity, hesitantly crossed the floor and put a hand on her sister's back, even though the thirteen-year-old girl flinched at the contact. 

"Hey..." Maggie said in a quieter voice. "Did you have a nightmare or something?" 

The crying didn't cease, and April didn't answer. 

"It's okay," the dark-haired one said, in what she hoped was a comforting voice. "You're home, now. You're awake... And everything's okay." 

'No, it's not. No, I'm not... How could I be?' the girl thought, bitterly.

* * *

That afternoon, in the Greene house, Margarita, April, and their brother sat in the living room, watching April finally beat the final boss of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. 

And when the polygonal Ganondorf fell, and the miniature Link and Zelda ran through a collapsing Castle, and Ganon finally revealed himself from the rubble, all April did was stare at the screen. 

"Yay," said she, when she re-obtained the Master Sword. 

"Shouldn't you be just a bit more enthusiastic that th-" her brother began, but abruptly cut himself off when Maggie grabbed his arm, pointing to the N64 with a shaking hand. 

"Ah... A-April...." Maggie stammered. 

"Yeah?" the girl said, turning around. 

"...Your controller isn't plugged in."

April's eyes widened, staring between her controller and the system. Her head spun, and she looked back at her siblings, who looked to be in a state between shock and horror.

She couldn't say anything. She could only repress the terrible desire to plug the control in. 

Her siblings stared at her. 

_Plug it in_

This time, April was sure that she heard the voice. And she knew exactly Who had given her that command, however silly and commercial-esque it may have sounded. 

Without hesitation, April Greene reached forward and took the end of the wire, with the green plastic cover, into one hand, while she held the system in the other. 

And she plugged it in.

* * *

"How bad is it?" Mrs. Greene, holding her family in one huddle by the side of a hospital bed. 

"Though we aren't exactly sure of the causes, or the results, of this..." The doctor shook his head in confusion. "There's a good chance that probably she won't wake up." 

The family drew in one breath, simultaneous shock. 

"So you're saying...?" April's father asked. 

"I'm saying that April will probably never wake up." 

"I don't get it..." Maggie mumbled, the state of shock not worn off at all. "All she did was plug in the controller..." 

"How could that have shocker her like that?" her brother asked. 

"I honestly don't know," the doctor answered. "But what I do know is that whatever caused this put her brain into a state of completely shock. And I've never heard of electricity doing that...." 

A bodiless spirit heard all of this from a gap between dimensions. 

_I died.... from plugging my controller in!?_ April laughed. 

_Aye,_ answered a voice. 

_Nayru?_ the spirit asked, spinning around. 

Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom, smiled. _You didn't think that Destiny was going to let you get away from your own destiny, did you? _

_I-I...._

_You obviously didn't think very clearly,_ the Goddess sighed. _We only needed a way to end April's life. Once and for all. And the end of Ganon, in which Zelda effectively left a moment long gap in the dimensions, was a perfect opportunity for us to do this._

Thinking that that sounded rather heartless out of the context of her whole, extremely twisted existence, April asked, feeling very guilty that she couldn't do more for them, of even feel more sad that she was leaving them, And my family...? 

_They will recover, in time._

_And electricity?_ April said, laughing once more. 

The Goddess shrugged. _Stranger things have happened. _

And April, who was suddenly not April anymore, left that gap. 

Her spirit fled, across planes and dimensions, to the place she had come to call home.

* * *

Zelda awoke in her courtyard, sitting on the limb of a tree and staring into a window of brilliant stained glass. 

"Holy...!" she sputtered, stumbling backward. 

She fell, and heard the sickening thud of her body hitting the ground, but she laughed anyway. 

"I'm back!!!" she yelled, getting up and looking around the elaborate courtyard. 

And then she looked down at her hands, at herself, and realized that she was once again the child Princess of Hyrule. 

A sudden onslaught of light footsteps penetrated her train of thought, and she didn't have to turn around to see who it was. 

But she did, anyway. 

They stood there like that for all of a minute, the Princess of Destiny and the Hero of Time, blue gaze once again meeting blue gaze as the children took the moment to take in the sight of the other. 

"Do you remember?" Zelda asked 

Link only nodded. 

She thus proceeded to run across the short distance, grab him into a rough hug, and knock them both to the ground. 

"This reminds me vaguely of something" Link said, looking up at the Princess of Hyrule while she blushed a bright pink. 

"Ahem," she muttered, jumping up and brushing herself off. 

Link smiled, and she helped him up as well. 

"So..." Link began. 

"It worked," Zelda affirmed, not needing to know what he was thinking. "Hyrule is back to the way it was; only without Ganondork and all of that." 

"Good." 

Zelda stared at him playfully for a moment, before she said, "I told you I could make it work." 

And they smirked simultaneously as Zelda suddenly sprung to life again, dragging them both into Hyrule Castle.

* * *

Well... That was, effectively, the end of it. 

La la la? 

Is anyone as confused as I am about this story? ............. Ah, well. 

Enjoy the next chapter. The Epilogue. 

And now, I thank everyone who's read this random fic. I did have fun working on it, and I'm glad that I've finally come to the end. (Glad that it's finally all updated!!!!!) Because giving up is for quitters!! 

Thank you, everyone!! 

SailorZelda


	34. Epilogue Destiny: Just A Game

Epilogue - Destiny; Just a Game

* * *

Years passed in a much different way than they had in an alternate seven years. 

They were peaceful. And prosperous. 

"Link!" Zelda called across the green practice courtyard. 

"What?" he answered from an obscure location, the sound of the dull 'thunk' of an arrow hitting its target following his short reply. 

"I need help!!" 

In the past ten years, the Princess had grown into a young woman nobody originally thought she could be. The Kingdom of Hyrule prospered. The Hero of Time was hardly called upon to save the world, anymore. Despite the fact that he was still treated like a celebrity. 

"So, what's going on?" Link asked, walking into the clearing where he knew Zelda to be. 

"Vaiya's being completely unfair!" she retorted, pointing at the dark-haired, twenty-five year old Sheikah woman, who was currently sitting on a plane a bit higher than the roof, looking down at the two of them. 

"No, I'm not," came the innocent reply. 

"I told you no Sight!!" 

"I didn't!" called the seer. 

"I said no magic, though, at least!" 

A young woman named Vaiya had turned up at Hyrule Castle one day, requesting to see her aunt, the attendant to Princess Zelda. When an audience was arranged, Vaiya said that she had Seen something, as a Seer of the Sheikah, of a future that was actually something of a past. Impa of the Sheikah had been only too happy to explain to her niece that all of Hyrule had been effectively thrown backward in Time seven years. 

Though Vaiya had boggled at that, she had accepted it. And she had come routinely to the Castle ever so often to say hello to her aunt and her friends, found in the Hero of Time and Princess Zelda. 

"In a pretend fight, you can at least play by the rules," the Princess continued, imperiously. 

"Well, that's never gonna get you anywhere in real combat," Vaiya retorted. 

Zelda looked imploringly to Link, who only shook his head. 

"She's right, you know." 

"Grr! You're supposed to take my side!" the Princess seethed, summoning a small ball of energy in her fist and, seconds later, blinking into existence on a plane of air at Vaiya's level. 

"You only had enough time to get up here because you Saw what I was going to do. I know that much." 

Vaiya shrugged. "Ah, well." 

With that, Zelda snapped, the abrupt click resounding oddly in the thrumming of the magic already in use, and they both dropped to the floor. Not the sudden fall that one would expect with the pull of gravity, but slowed enough so that they could land on their feet. 

"I thought you just said no magic." 

As the only heir to the Hylian throne, Zelda thought it would be in her best interest to not only study the ways of ruling a kingdom, but to study the ways of the soldier and the warrior. After all, she couldn't trust Link to do everything, all the time. 

It hadn't been long, when the two had first gone back in Time, before the King had realized that the strange little Kokiri boy was there to stay. And he had allowed him a space to live at the castle, which Link only took, initially, because he was aware that his home in Kokiri wouldn't even be able to hold him for very much longer. 

The two had become easy friends, being two of the only eight people to remember that Hyrule had lived seven years under the reign of a Dark King. 

Zelda smiled, snapping her fingers once again to make their weapons, short, curved, Gerudo styled swords, disappear into a pocket of space until she wanted them again. 

"Cheat," Vaiya muttered. 

"I'm hungry!" the Princess announced, ignoring her friend. "Let's eat!" 

So, three individuals made their way to the castle kitchens, only to find that there was already a cook standing there with a plate of sandwiches. 

"I'd figured as much," the cook said, as the crew grabbed the plate and headed toward Zelda's personal courtyard. 

Though Zelda had often stopped to think about the life she had lead before, she found that she often couldn't remember anything much about it. The only thing she realized was that it seemed more and more trivial than the life she was leading now, as the Princess of Hyrule. 

"The girl from Lon Lon Ranch is here to see you, Highness," a guard announced, entering the yard briefly before departing without a backward glance. 

Zelda jumped up from her seat on the stone bench, leaving Link and Vaiya behind as she ran to an adjacent hall of ivy and stone, scanning the area for a familiar, redheaded figure. 

"Malon!" Zelda shouted, seeing the young woman and running toward her. 

"Hey, Zelda!" the ranch girl shouted back, turning to Zelda to embrace her briefly. 

"How are you!?" Zelda asked. "You're never around here much, any more!" 

In the alternate seven years, Malon had been a force that kept Zelda on the path to the current Time. But even now, when Hyrule wasn't in any kind of grave peril, Malon kept her saner than most other forces could. 

"I'm just fine!" Malon laughed. "And you?" 

"Great!" Zelda chirped. 

But then, Malon gave a little noise at the back of her throat, and said, excitedly, "Lemme see your hand, again!" 

Zelda groaned slightly, unconsciously twisting the glittering object resting on a finger of her left hand. "You've only seen it fifty million times!" 

"I know," Malon said. "But it's so shiny!" 

Zelda rolled her eyes, holding up the hand upon which rested a golden ring, complete with diamond and sapphire, the stone of her birth season. 

And Malon smiled and contained the little squeal of excitement as she asked, "And now, how long?"  
"Two months," Zelda said, automatically. 

"Bet'cha can't wait," Malon inquired, smirking slightly. 

"Oh, really?" the Princess asked, raising her eyebrows slightly. 

Some time before, it had become official news that the Princess and the Hero of Time were something of an item. And they had made their relationship official several months before, when their engagement had been announced. The King was only glad that his daughter had had the common sense to marry someone at least respectable enough to have made a name for himself. 

And Zelda laughed at the people who thought it was predictable, or cliché. 

But, really. The Princess of Destiny and the Hero of Time. 

Malon and Zelda walked back to the Princess's courtyard, taking their time. Because there wasn't a need to rush; not at the moment, at least. They all knew that the peace couldn't last this way forever. 

As the group of Hylians, and one Sheikah, sat in the grass and talked about everything and nothing and all the random things in between, Zelda thought about exactly what she had become. She was a woman who was happy with what she was; she knew that much. Princes of Destiny, which was definitely not a game. Holder of the Triforce of Wisdom. Soon to be wife of Link, Hero of Time. And she was Zelda, Princess of Hyrule. But mostly... just Zelda. 

And maybe her Destiny was a bit of a game, after all. 

The End


End file.
